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THE GOVERNMENT 

OF THE 

AMERICAN PEOPLE 



BY 



FRANK STRONG, Ph.D. 

President of the University of Oregon 



AND 



JOSEPH SCHAFER, M. L. 

Assistant Professor of History in the 
University of Oregon 




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BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

1901 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Copita Received 

SEP. 3 1901 

Copyright entry 
CLASS a. XXa Nj. 

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COPYRIGHT, 190I 

BY FRANK STRONG AND JOSEPH SCHAFER 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



PREFACE 

This book is a story of the development of govern- 
ment in America. The writers beheve from experience 
and observation that there are four main reasons why 
books on Civil Government, for both the grammar 
grades and the high school, have proved unprofitable, 
and why there is such widespread complaint about the 
study of civil government in the schools, (i) The 
books used, with some exceptions, are too elementary in 
treatment, and so at once offend the sense of boys and 
girls ; or, (2) they are made up of isolated topics which 
have no continuity and give no idea of government even 
in its simplest forms, and therefore fail to leave any 
impression as a whole upon the mind of the pupil ; or, 
(3) they are practically mere analyses of the Constitu- 
tion ; or, (4) they are written in a style which makes 
necessary a large amount of interpretation in order that 
the pupil may understand the many unfamiliar terms and 
expressions. This book is written with the belief that 
pupils have the ability (which we often underrate) to 
understand and appropriate ideas of government if ex- 
pressed mainly in terms to which they are accustomed 
and in a style that does not require interpreting. Espe- 
cially is this true if the explanation of government is 
progressive and moves from the simpler to the more 
complex forms. 

There are two things, therefore, that seem to the 



IV PREFACE 

writers most desirable, and even absolutely necessary. 
They are (i) that the story itself should have a decided 
continuity ; (2) that the facts and forms of government 
should be connected in an unbroken narrative with 
those historical events upon which they depend, and 
without which it is impossible that they be rightly 
understood. These two requirements seem necessary 
for clearness and interest, and can be conformed to 
without subordinating the matters of government to the 
historical part of the narrative. 

The book may be used for three classes of pupils : 
first, for those of the seventh and eighth grades in the 
grammar school, whose preparation requires mainly a 
reading book on government, to be supplemented by 
oral instruction ; second, for pupils of the eighth or 
ninth grade, whose preparation calls for a study book, 
with the questions confined mainly to the text; and 
third, for those more advanced students whose prepara- 
tion calls for a more philosophical study of the text, 
with the aid of references and a large use of the sugges- 
tive questions. According to the class he has to deal 
with, the teacher may make much or little of the oppor- 
tunities in the book for study and outside reading. He 
may use one chapter merely for reading, and another for 
both reading and study, and another for more difficult 
and advanced work. This will be possible and profitable, 
because the continuity of the book is fairly complete and 
the progression of the story natural and easy. 

Suggestive questions have been placed at the end of 
each series of chapters. They are for such classes and 
schools as use the book in grades where the pupils 
are advanced enough to do some independent thinking. 



PREFACE V 

Teachers should observe caution in the use of these 
questions, and should be certain that their pupils are 
mature enough to warrant such use. Outlines of pre- 
sent forms of government will also be found at the end 
of each Part for the benefit of less advanced pupils. 
The use of the book as a mere reading exercise will be 
of great value. It will supplement the knowledge of 
American history already gained, and will attractively 
connect the growth of our government with historical 
facts already well understood by the student. 

Those using the book for reading • only may, if they 
find it best, dispense with the questions entirely, taking 
care to see that the pupils read intelligently and get 
some correct and lasting impressions as to the growth 
and character of our government. When used as a read- 
ing book it should be supplemented by oral instruction, 
which, when rightly used, will bring out the details of 
present government as far as pupils of the last years of 
the grammar schools are able to observe them. 

Many of the details of present government which are 
often included in a book of this kind we have left to 
teachers and pupils to work out for themselves. As 
aids to this we have put in the questions and outlines 
as noted above. These details are the very things 
pupils can and ought to get for themselves, and we 
think it of great importance that they have this oppor- 
tunity for independent thought and research. 

Extended notes, bibliographies, and suggestions for 
teachers will be printed separately as a Teachers' Man- 
ual. 

We are under many obligations to Dr. Joseph R. 
Wilson, principal of the Portland Academy, Portland, 



VI PREFACE 

Oregon ; Professor H. B. Buckhara, State Normal School, 
Monmouth, Oregon ; and Mr. Walter H. Gushing, prin- 
cipal of the High School, Medford, Mass., for criticisms 
that have greatly aided in the revision of the manu- 
script. Dr. Henry D. Sheldon, assistant professor of 
philosophy and education in the University of Oregon, 
Superintendent Edward D. Ressler, of the public schools 
of Eugene, Oregon, and other Oregon teachers have 
given valuable suggestions. The suggestions and criti- 
cisms of the publishers of the book, and especially of 
Mr. M. W. Richardson, have been invaluable. 

Frank Strong. 
Joseph Schafer. 
Eugene, Oregon, June 17, 1901. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

INTRODUCTION i 

PART I. 



CHAPTER 



TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

I. Local Government in Virginia and Massa- 
chusetts 17 

II. Expansion of American Institutions .... 25 

III. The County System in the West 29 

IV. The Township System in the West 36 

, V. Present Tendencies in Local Government . . 43 

VI. The Management of Schools and Roads . . 48 

PART II. 

CITY government. 

VII. The Development of City Life in the United 

States 61 

VIII. Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago 69 

IX. The Problem of Cities 80 

PART III. 
STATE GOVERNMENT. 

X. The Development of the Colony into the 

State 93 

XL The State Governments 108 

PART IV. 
ORIGIN OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

XII. Conditions that made Union between the 

Colonies Difficult .127 

XIII. Growth of Union . . . . • 133 

XIV. Genesis of the Constitution 147 



viii CONTENTS 

PART V. 

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. " 

XV. The Constitution i6o 

XVI . The Federal Congress 172 

XVII. The Federal Executive 191 

XVIII. The Federal Judiciary 205 

XIX. Other Important Provisions of the Consti- 
tution 215 

APPENDIX 

(a) The Constitution of the United States ,227 

(d) The States classified according to Origin 244 

THE GROWTH OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN OREGON. 

(a) The Rise of a Western State 247 

(d) The First Organic Law, with questions and outhnes . . 261 

(c) Provisional Constitution of Oregon 269 

(d) State Constitution of Oregon, with questions and outhnes 277 

Indexes 309 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 
AMERICAN PEOPLE 



INTRODUCTION 



Government a Growth. Governments, in their man- 
ner of growth, are much like plants. As the giant oak 
was once a tiny shoot with a few twigs and leaves, al- 
ways in danger of being destroyed by some browsing 
animal, so the greatest nations had their small and 
uncertain beginnings. The growth of the tree is indi- 
cated year by year by a larger output of leaves and by 
the regular addition of new rings to its trunk ; that of 
the nation, by the gradual enlargment of its boundaries 
and the constant increase in the things done to develop 
its resources. 

Not only is there a similarity in the growth of trees 
and of nations from small beginnings to great results, 
but there is still another resemblance. We now know 
that in the course of long periods of time plants go 
through great changes in their general appearance, 
their form and structure. Thus in ages far remote, of 
which we have no records except those which the strata 
of the earth furnish us, the oak was not an oak, but an 
altogether different kind of plant. Very slowly, century 
by century, its form changed, its appearance and struc- 
ture changed, until it became the tree which everybody 
recognizes as the oak. 



2 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Just so with the ideas, the customs and habits, which 
taken together form a poUtical system. They have not 
been " struck off " by the skillful hand of man, nor have 
they been invented in their complete form by some cun- 
ning brain. They have simply grown by changing from 
one shape to another, little by little, until they appear 
at last in the form in which we know them. 

This growth is somewhat like that of the language 
we speak or read, and in which all of our ideas on poli- 
tics are expressed. We have some difficulty in under- 
standing the writings of our ancestors of early colonial 
times. In studying the English writers of five hundred 
years ago we keep a special dictionary at hand to explain 
words used then which are not used now, or are used in 
a different way. When we get back a thousand years, 
to the time of King Alfred, the English language is not 
our English language at all. It is then Anglo-Saxon, 
which has to be learned from grammar and dictionary 
just as we learn German, French, or Latin. The differ- 
ences between this language and our own are as great 
as those between modern English and modern Dutch 
or Swedish. In fact, the language used by the early 
Anglo-Saxons is just as closely related to modern 
Swedish or Dutch as it is to modern English, for the 
people who became Swedes and Dutchmen were, as we 
know, of the same race as the Angles and Saxons who 
were the ancestors of the English. And not only were 
they of the same race, but their original home was in 
the same place, that is, the country now occupied by 
the German Empire. In all of these forms of language, 
therefore, we find common elements, or, as the gram- 
marians call them, *' roots," from which the languages 
have grown by very slow changes. 

The Germans. Taking our political system as a 



INTRODUCTION 3 

whole, we may say that it has been inherited from the 
Englishmen who colonized America nearly three hun- 
dred years ago. To be sure, many others besides Eng- 
lishmen have settled in this country since that time, 
but they have had only a very slight influence on 
the way in which the government has been carried on. 
Our plan of governing by towns and counties, espe- 
cially, is directly connected with the plan of governing 
by towns and counties in England at the time when 
Englishmen first began to come to America. 

But when we have traced our ideas of government 
thus far back we are not yet at the point of beginning, 
nor even as far as we can safely go. For we know that 
the English themselves inherited many of their ideas 
from the Angles and Saxons, who came into the Island 
of Britain (later England) more than a thousand years 
before. As we have seen, the early home of these 
people was in what is now Germany. Therefore we 
must go back to the gloomy forests of the Rhine and 
the Elbe to get a glimpse of the political life from 
which our system of government has grown. 

By good fortune we are enabled to do this ; for, a 
little more than eighteen hundred years ago, Tacitus, a 
Roman historian. Wrote an account of these people of 
the woods and the marshes, to whom such great interest 
attaches to-day. 

At that time nearly all the civilized people of the 
world were embraced within the boundaries of the great 
Roman Empire. It took in all the territory around the 
Mediterranean Sea and extended northward as far as 
the river Danube and the river Rhine. These two 
streams, rising near one another and flowing, one east- 
ward and southward, the other northward and westward, 
made a nearly unbroken line extending from the Black 
Sea to the North Sea. 



4 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

On one side of this line were cultivated fields, good 
dwellings, admirable roads, and large cities. In short, 
here was the home of the most advanced people of that 
time, who had a civilization not very different from our 
own. But on the other side of the line all was different. 
The country was wild, dark, cold, and forbidding. It 
was a land where the forests were as yet almost un- 
broken, except for occasional spots which were under a 
rude system of cultivation. There were no roads, no 
bridges across the streams, and no cities. The people 
who lived there were not civilized, but barbarous, some- 
what as were the Indians of the Six Nations in what is 
now Central New York. 

And yet these people, the early Germans, were our 
ancestors. Even in their barbarous state they had 
some of the personal and political traits for which their 
descendants have become justly famed. Among these 
were, especially, courage in war and the love of per- 
sonal freedom. The German warriors were the terror 
of all their foes. Gathered round some chosen leader 
they often attacked the Romans for the sake of the 
plunder which Roman lands and cities afforded. The 
Roman soldiers noted the huge size of these barbarians 
and had good reason to dread the fierceness of their on- 
set, because the Germans always fought for victory. 
Even Caesar had a good deal of trouble with them fifty 
years before Christ. As time went on and the Ger- 
man tribes became more united, the difficulties of the 
Romans increased. It became harder and harder to 
keep the Germans from breaking into the Empire to 
rob and plunder, or to settle down upon the well tilled 
lands which were so much more fruitful than their own. 
At last they actually conquered the Roman Empire, 
which up to that time had ruled the world. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

The Political System of the Germans. We have 
said that we get our ideas of government from the early- 
Germans. What are these ideas ? ^ At first sight this 
barbarous people hardly seems to have had a political 
system, and yet the beginnings were there. Every 
German, like every American Indian, belonged to some 
tribe.2 As the Indians were Sioux, Mohawks, or Chero- 
kees, so the Germans were Goths, Lombards, or Van- 
dals. A tribe was simply a number of people speaking 
the same dialect and having some idea of blood relation- 
ship. They did not live all together in a compact terri- 
tory, but were scattered over a large tract of country, 
just as the Indians were. Like them, too, they lived in 
groups. Those who were very closely related by blood 
formed a village, and this broke the tribe up into a num- 
ber of somewhat separate parts. Looked at in another 
way, therefore, the tribe may be said to have been made 
up of a considerable number of villages whose inhab- 
itants were closely related by blood. These villages 
were really more important in some ways than the tribe 
itself, for here the people lived close together and had 
to make exact rules to govern their relations to one an- 
other. The German village was probably a row or two 
of rudely built huts, each hut having a small plot of 
ground about it. This land belonged to the household 
itself, to be used as the members saw fit. Outside of 
the village was a large field, which, unlike the house 
lots, was used by the villagers in common. That is to 
say, no individual man owned any part of it absolutely, 
but each head of a family received a strip or several 

^ See Stubbs, Constitutional History of Etigland^ i., chapter ii. 

2 On the political arrangements of the barbarous Indians, which 
closely resemble those of the Germans, see Fiske's History of the 
United States^ pp. 4-7. 



6 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

strips each spring to cultivate during the summer. The 
next year another distribution would be made by lot, no 
man perhaps securing the same strips of field two years 
in succession. This is the kind of primitive farming 
arrangements which has received the name of ** the 
common field system." It remained in use in some 
form for a very long period. Even now, in some parts 
of England and of Germany, there are traces of it in 
the ridges which at one time made the boundaries be- 
tween these strips in the common fields. 

The early Germans, however, were much more inter- 
ested in raising cattle and sheep than they were in till- 
ing the soil. Therefore each village had a large tract 
of waste land or woodland, which was used as a common 
pasture by all of the villagers. Here some one of their 
number herded the cows and sheep belonging to them 
all, doubtless receiving food from them in payment for 
the work. Thus there were three kinds of land, so far 
as the rights of an individual in it were concerned : the 
house lot which was his own, the common field in which 
he drew his strips each year, and the waste or pasture 
into which he turned his cattle with those of his neigh- 
bors and kinsmen. This was a rather complex system, 
requiring a good deal of regulation, and therefore some 
kind of government was absolutely necessary. It was 
also needed to settle disputes between individuals, to 
punish offenders, and in general to keep the affairs of 
the village from falling into disorder. 

For these purposes the villagers made their own gov- 
ernment. We do not know the details of it, but it is 
supposed that the freemen came together each spring, 
perhaps under a sacred tree, and there allotted to each 
man his strips of field, made rules about the number of 
cattle and sheep each family could turn into the wood- 



INTRODUCTION 7 

land and pasture, punished the less serious crimes, ad- 
mitted new members to the village, etc. In fact, this 
village gathering of our Germanic ancestors was a good 
deal like a New England town meeting, with which 
it is often compared. Thus the villagers lived together 
and attended to their own local needs. 

But we have not forgotten that they were also mem- 
bers of a tribe. Matters of common interest to all the 
villages, such as wars with neighboring people, had to 
be settled by a government which could act for the whole 
tribe. Here again the Germans showed their love for 
self-government by each man taking a personal part in 
the tribal assembly. At an appointed time, new moon 
or full moon, all who were old enough to bear arms would 
get together at some central place. They always came 
armed with the regular weapons of warfare, the spear 
and the shield. In the assembly one man had just as 
good a right to speak as another, and when any one 
spoke in such a way as to please his hearers they ap- 
plauded by striking their shields with their spears. 

In these assemblies some tribes elected kings, and all 
chose officers called princes, to govern over a smaller 
division called the cantouy which was a sort of halfway 
house between the village and the tribe. The assem- 
blies also acted as courts of justice, and issued orders 
for the hanging of traitors and the smothering of cow- 
ards in the mire. Each canton had also a court in which 
the freemen took part. Hence the Germanic system of 
government was made up of three parts, the village, the 
canton, and the tribe. The village was much like our 
township, because all had a part in the government ; the 
canton a little like our county, and the tribe in some 
ways like our state, or like a small independent nation. 

The Political System of the Germans as m.odified 



8 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

by the Settlers in Britain. As we already know, the 
Island of Britain, now England, was conquered by cer- 
tain German tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) in 449 
A. D. That is to say, in that year a band of German 
warriors, crossing over in ships, landed near London 
and began to conquer the country. As time went on, 
more and more Germans came, each band with its 
leader, and continued the warfare until the Celts, as the 
natives were called, had been either slaughtered or 
driven into the fastnesses of the mountains. This was 
accomplished by about the year 600 a. d. 

Now these warlike bands, coming over usually with 
their wives and children, and sometimes bringing their 
cattle too, naturally wished to settle upon the land'they 
conquered. In doing so, what plan would they follow ? 
There can be but one answer. They would do as people 
always do, — follow the plan they were used to. The 
closely related families grouped together and got per- 
mission to settle in some spot which they liked. Here 
appeared the village,^ with its rows of huts and its house 
lots, the common field near by, and the meadow, pasture, 
and woodland at a distance. Here too was reproduced 
the Germanic village government by all the freemen 
uniting together. In like manner the tribal assembly 
and the court of the canton appeared in England. There 
was, however, a change of names. The village was now 
called the township (tunscipe),^ and the canton was 
known as the hundred. This name may have been 
derived from the fact that the district called the hun- 
dred furnished a hundred armed men when the tribe 
engaged in war. 

1 For the reproduction of the Germanic village in England see 
Green, Short History of the English People, pp. 1-4. 

2 So called from the " tun," or hedge surrounding the village. 



INTRODUCTION 9 

The tribal assembly became the shire court, and this 
change requires a word of explanation. In the course 
of the fighting against the Celts, the tribes had seen the 
need of having a single ruler, who should hold office 
steadily during a number of years. Therefore they 
chose kings, and allowed them to become life rulers. 
In this manner the conquering tribes became small 
local kingdoms, each independent of ail the others. 
When, about 600 a. d., the tribes or kingdoms got 
through fighting the Celts, they naturally fell to fight- 
ing one another. Of course they were not all of equal 
strength, and the result was that the weaker ones lost 
their independence and became parts of the stronger 
kingdoms which had overpowered them. Finally these 
larger kingdoms warred among themselves until but 
one was left, and that now included all the rest. 

What then became of the earlier kingdoms } Were 
they entirely destroyed } Not at all. They were 
allowed to remain as subordinate parts of the larger 
kingdom, with local governments of their own, but with 
certain officers who were responsible to the king of the 
whole country, the ruler of England. The name shire, 
meaning " share " of the larger kingdom, was given to 
such divisions. Afterwards they were often called coun- 
ties. By this name we shall speak of them henceforth. 

The Rise of Representative Governraent. We have 
said that the old Germanic system of government by 
three divisions, village, canton, and tribe, reappeared in 
England in the form of township, hundred, and county. 
But a difference in the method of carrying on the gov- 
ernment of the last two gradually came in. All the 
freemen met in the town meeting, just as they did in 
the village meeting in Germany ; but they did not all 
attend the hundred court or the county court. Instead, 



10 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

each township sent its representatives, consisting of the 
reeve, or head officer, the parish priest, and four " best 
men," which probably means leading men of the town- 
ship. These attended both the hundred court and the 
county court. Other freemen had a right to attend the 
county court if they chose to do so. 

We see, therefore, that in England, as among the 
early Germans, there was local self-government, but it 
was in some measure representative. We see, also, that 
another part has been added to the system. The Ger- 
mans had three parts, beginning with the village and 
ending with the tribe ; the English had four, beginning 
with the township and ending with the government of 
the nation. This national government was made up of 
the king and a body of men who at first helped the king 
to make laws. It was called the Witan, or council of 
"wise men," and included usually the king's great 
officers, the head men of the church, such as bishops 
and archbishops, and the head men or aldermen of the 
county. The common freemen did not get as far as the 
national government. They were represented in the 
county court, and might attend it in person if they 
chose. But they got no higher than the county court. 
Here was a great danger and difficulty. How could 
men preserve their rights as freemen if they had no in- 
fluence in the national government which made the 
laws and managed the most important affairs ? 

Extension of the Representative Idea. The way in 
which this question was settled by the English people 
has been a great lesson to all nations. They simply 
extended the idea of representation, with which they 
were familiar in their local governments, so as to give 
them a part in national affairs as well. Men chosen by 
these local governments at last made up one house in 



INTRODUCTION II 

the Parliament, and that house (the House of Commons) 
had most to do with matters of taxation. The people 
then had hold of the purse-strings of the nation, and by 
managing them wisely they could keep the king pretty 
completely under their control. For no nation can get 
along without money to pay its expenses, and those who 
control the supply of money will, in the long run, con- 
trol the government. This result was not reached at 
once. It took centuries of time and a constant and 
determined effort to enable the freemen to win the 
right to control taxation. The story of that struggle 
makes up a considerable part of the political history of 
England, and we can only give a few hints to show how 
the process was carried on. 

In the first place we have to remember that, following 
the custom of the early Germans, the people of the 
English townships and counties had the right to lay 
taxes upon themselves. When the king wanted money 
he would have the sheriff of the county make arrange- 
ments for it with the representatives of the people, who 
got together in the county court. Sometimes he sent a 
special officer to make such arrangements. The impor- 
tant point in this whole matter is that the property of 
Englishmen could not be taken from them, even by the 
king, without their having something to say about it 
themselves. As time went on and the needs of the 
king grew greater, there was a strong effort to tax the 
people in new and burdensome ways. A part of the 
people were lords or barons, who, as individuals, had 
the right to consent to taxes levied upon them. But 
kings violated this right whenever they could do so 
with safety. Finally, in 12 15 the barons miadewar upon 
King John and compelled him to sign the Great Charter,^ 
* See Green, Short History^ chapter iii. 



12 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

by which he definitely gave up the right to tax them 
(except for three special purposes) without their con- 
sent. 

For the purpose of giving this consent the king was 
to call all the barons, including the heads of the church, 
to a common council of the kingdom. This body, which 
was not new, but was now definitely established, became 
the House of Lords in the English Parliament. Before 
the end of the century (1295) the House of Commons, 
of which we have already spoken, was added. It was 
made up of two classes, members elected to represent 
the counties, and other members chosen from the bor- 
oughs or towns. 

One reason why King Edward the First (in 1295) 
called these classes to the common council or Parlia- 
ment was that this was the most convenient way of lay- 
ing taxes upon the people. Instead of sending a justice 
or other officer to the county court to bargain with the 
people of the county and the towns as to how much 
money they were willing to raise for the king, he now 
had them send men to London to talk with him per- 
sonally about the matter. In this way the king could 
probably make a better bargain, and at any rate the 
method was a much more convenient one. King Ed- 
ward the First did not suspect that this body of men 
would finally control the government through their 
right to consent to taxation, but that is exactly what 
happened. 

Other Forms of Representation. These men, the 
knights of the shires and burgesses of the towns, repre- 
sented the entire population of the county or the town 
which elected them. This shows how the representa- 
tive idea worked up through the entire system. Other 
forms of it grew up in England, some of which are of 



INTRODUCTION I3 

the greatest interest to Americans. One of these is the 
jury.i It arose during the twelfth and thirteenth cen- 
turies, in some such way as this : the local townships and 
hundreds were held responsible for all crimes committed 
within their boundaries. In 1166, the king^ ordered 
that four men of each township and twelve men of 
each hundred should hunt out all law-breakers in their 
townships and hundreds, and bring them before the 
judge to be tried for their crimes. This was the be- 
ginning of the grand jury, which hears charges against 
a man, and if the charges are thought to be txMQ presents 
him for trial, or " indicts " him. The trial now takes place 
before another body of men, always twelve in number, 
called the trial jury or petit jury. This jury system, 
which is considered one of the greatest safeguards of 
personal liberty, grew up in England long before the 
colonists began to come to America. Since the juries 
were supposed to act in place of the communities which 
chose them, we see that this is simply another form of 
representation. 

Local Governments about 1600. We are now ready 
to take a glance at the English system of local govern- 
ment as it was about the time that America began to be 
settled by Englishmen. Many changes had occurred 
in the thousand years since the Saxons brought in the 
Germanic township, hundred, and county ; and yet to 
a surprising extent the old principles of government 
remained.^ 

The old township had generally been succeeded by 

1 On the jury as a form of representation, see Ta5'lor, Origin 
and Growth of the English Constitution^ i. 202-207. 

2 Henry II. (i 135-1189). His reign is notable for the great polit- 
ical reforms brought about by him. 

8 Taylor, ii. 183-194. 



14 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the parish,^ which was originally the district of a priest, 
and had a meeting for the management of church affairs 
only. But as time passed the old free townships came 
more and more under the control of the lords, and lost 
their right of managing their own affairs. Afterwards 
the parish, which occupied the same territory as the older 
township, gradually acquired the right, and was given 
the duty, of attending to many of the public matters 
that the township had once looked after. 

The hundred had long since dropped out or had be- 
come merely the name of a geographical division of the 
county. There remained the towns or boroughs and the 
counties. The boroughs grew up mainly after the Saxon 
conquest, often on the lands of some great lord, of the 
king, or of the church. After a while, as trade grew, 
they became wealthy, and then they bought off the 
lord's right of governing them and had self-government. 
Sometimes the kings granted them charters giving cer- 
tain specified rights. But self-government in the towns 
did not mean that all the townsmen had a right to take 
part in the management of public affairs. In fact, power 
came to be confined to a very few who made up what 
was called "the corporation." It usually contained a 
mayor, recorder, aldermen, and common councilmen. 
These men had the right to govern the town, and 
usually to choose the representatives to Parliament. 

The county government had changed very greatly. 

^ When the Roman church was organized in England, during the 
seventh century, the lowest church officer, the priest, was placed 
over a district which usually had the same boundaries as the 
Anglo-Saxon township. The men of the township, then, were 
members of the parish church. By and by the political townships 
were generally changed to manors ; but these men still made up the 
parish church, and they managed its affairs by means of a parish 
meeting, /. ^., popular assembly. 



INTRODUCTION 15 

Instead of the old county court, in which representa- 
tives of the townships and hundreds managed the busi- 
ness affairs of the county and made up a court of justice, 
there was now a court of "quarter sessions." It was 
made up of a number of "justices of the peace," who 
were appointed by the king. This court managed the 
affairs of the county, and tried a large class of cases and 
minor offenses. It was a legislature, an executive, and a 
judiciary all in one. The sheriff was under the orders 
of the justices and carried out their decrees. The jus- 
tices were usually wealthy landholders, and had great 
social and political importance. Their public duties 
were so varied that they have been called the " states- 
men of all work." About the only remaining reason for 
the meeting of the old county court was the election of 
members of Parliament, and in such cases the sheriff 
presided over the meeting. 

We see, therefore, that county government in Eng- 
land, when the colonists began to come to America, was 
far from being democratic. There was only one popular 
assembly in the entire system, and that was the vestry 
or meeting of the parish.^ It elected church wardens, 
who were a kind of board of supervisors ; it also chose 
overseers of the poor, a constable, and several waymen, 
or road overseers. It discussed local affairs and levied 
taxes for the support of the church, the repair of roads, 
and the care of the poor. 

SUMMARY 

Governments grow as naturally as do plants. They also 
change in form and character in much the same way. The 
change is very slow and gradual, like that which takes place 
in a language. 

1 Sometimes this also was in the hands of a few men. 



l6 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

American ideas of government came directly from the Eng- 
lish colonists j but the English people had derived them in 
part from the early Germans. The Germans, as described by 
Tacitus, had a political system which embraced three parts : 
(a) the village, {b) the canton, {c) the tribe. The idea of self- 
government was strongly developed among them. 

When certain of these German tribes conquered Britain, 
449 to 600 A. D., they set up a similar political system there. 
The German village became the early English township, the 
canton became the hundred, and the tribe became the shire 
or county. The people still managed their local affairs in the 
town-meeting, the hundred court, and the shire or county 
court. But they did this partly by means of representation. 
Townships sent representatives to the hundred court and the 
county court. The jury was another form of representation, 
used in judicial matters. 

In time the idea of representation was extended to the na- 
tional government, the counties and boroughs sending men to 
Parliament to look after their interests. These men, who 
made up the House of Commons, gained great power in the 
government because they had the right to determine what 
taxes should be paid by the people for the support of the 
king and the government. 

England therefore had a liberal form of government, in 
which the people had many rights and privileges. These 
ideas of government were carried to the American colonies 
by the English settlers. They also brought over the forms 
of local government to which they were accustomed. These 
were : {a) the county, with its court of appointed justices ; 
{b) the borough, governed by a corporation ; (c) the parish, 
which had a popular assembly for both church and local polit- 
ical matters. 



CHAPTER I 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS 

The First English Colonies.^ In the year 1607 a 
company of Englishmen settled at Jamestown in Vir- 
ginia. For a few years there was a struggle to keep 
the settlement alive, but after that the colony began to 
prosper, and many people came from England to cast in 
their lot with the Virginians. New settlements were 
planted further up the James River and on the neigh- 
boring streams ; tobacco raising soon began, and every 
one was hopeful. 

By 1620 another group of Englishmen were estabhsh- 
ing themselves at Plymouth on Cape Cod. They were 
the "Pilgrims," who, finding life hard and the outlook 
for themselves and their children very dark in Holland, 
were seeking homes on the shores of America. Ten 
years later, 1630, a large body of English Puritans ar- 
rived at Massachusetts Bay. With their coming began 
the rapid settlement of New England. From Massa- 
chusetts as a centre, colonists went to Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Thus we have the 
beginnings of American colonization in the South and 
in the North. 

The Colonists bring English Institutions. We know 
that men cannot break suddenly with their past. As 
they are accustomed to think and act, so they will con- 

^ On the planting of the Virginia colony, see Fiske, History 
of the United States, pp. 67-70 ; on New England, lb. pp. 88-97. 



I8 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

tinue to think and act, unless some unusual conditions 
force them into new paths. So it came about that the 
English ideas of local government were transplanted to 
the James River and Massachusetts Bay. 

We have seen what these ideas were, and what were 
the parts of the local system. There was first the 
county, with its justices of the peace, its sheriff, its court 
of quarter sessions, and a *' county court " for choosing 
members of Parliament. Below the county was the 
parish, which had church wardens, overseers of the 
poor, a constable, and waymen to care for the roads. It 
had the only democratic assembly of the time in its 
parish meeting or vestry, where the people imposed 
taxes upon themselves, chose officers by vote, and dis- 
cussed local affairs. These, with the borough or town 
government, were the elements which entered into the 
American system. 

A Colony resembles a County. When men from 
England settled in Virginia or in Massachusetts, they 
still thought of themselves as Englishmen, and looked 
upon their colony as a part of England, although it was 
a little hard to tell just what kind of a part it made. 
The local division which the colony most nearly re- 
sembled was the county. Therefore, while they were 
small in extent, each colony looked upon itself as a sort 
of transplanted English county, an American Yorkshire, 
Suffolk, or Middlesex. In fact. Captain John Mason, 
the proprietor of New Hampshire, called his territory, 
*'My county of New Hampshire in New England." 

The government of the colony was most like the 
English county government. It had its general court, 
which in several colonies was at first attended by all the 
freemen ; it also had justices appointed by the governor. 
The court held by them was sometimes called the " quar- 



IN VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS IQ 

ter sessions." But when the people became numerous 
and extended over a large area, it was inconvenient for 
them to attend the general court, and then the colony 
was divided into several parts. A court was now held 
in each of these divisions, which, following the English 
custom, were called counties. By and by the counties 
bore some such relation to the colonial government as 
the English county bore to the government of the 
kingdom. 

In both Massachusetts and Virginia there were local 
divisions smaller than the county, which went by vari- 
ous names, such as plantations, townships, or towns in 
Massachusetts ; boroughs, plantations, or cities in Vir- 
ginia. When in 1619 a general assembly was held in 
Virginia, the members were chosen from "boroughs," 
and the assembly itself took the name, *' House of Bur- 
gesses." It seems, therefore, that the Virginia people 
expected to have real towns in their colony. 

Virginia a Planting Colpny.^ In spite of the expec- 
tations of the early colonists, who planted what they 
called a "city" in every great bend of James River, 
towns refused to grow on Virginia soil. It grew tobacco 
magnificently, but tobacco culture drew the people apart 
on large plantations, thus spreading the population thinly 
over a large territory. At one time, we are told, the 
tobacco-planting craze went so far that the streets of 
Williamsburg, the colonial capital, were set with rows 
of the precious weed. People did not care to live in 
towns. The soil was rich, the climate mild, and every 
one tried to get plenty of land and make money. 

The Virginia planters had the same kind of church 

^ On the beginnings and effects of tobacco culture in Virginia, 
see Fiske, Old Virginia and Her Neighbours, i. 174-177; also 230, 
231. 



20 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

organization that they were used to in England, but on 
account of this scattering of the population it was im- 
possible to have the kind of parish meetings that the 
people of the English villages had. There the parish 
was very small in area ; in Virginia, where a tract of a 
thousand acres often had but a single family upon it, 
the parishes were necessarily very large. They were 
often of the same extent as the counties, and for this 
reason a general meeting of the parishioners could not 
be held. In place of such a democratic assembly for the 
management of parish affairs, the Virginia parish chose 
its vestrymen once for all, and placed practically com- 
plete power in their hands. The vestrymen taxed the 
people for the support of the church, kept the building 
in repair, provided for the rector, and filled vacancies in 
their own number. Some minor political matters, such 
as overseeing the poor, were also cared for by the parish 
officers. This was, of course, the very opposite of 
democracy, for the vestrymen held office for life, and 
their successors even then were not chosen by the peo- 
ple, but by the remaining members of the vestry. In 
this respect the Virginia parishes resembled many of 
the English boroughs. 

The Virginia County Government. The county was 
governed in the early time by a court of eight justices 
appointed by the governor. A sheriff and a county 
lieutenant, afterwards called colonel, were also appointed 
by the governor. The county court met once a month. 
It tried all ordinary suits and all criminal cases not 
of the most serious character. Patrick Henry's famous 
speech in the *' Parson's cause " was made before the 
county court of Hanover County. His father was at 
the time one of the justices and had previously been 
the colonel of the county militia. This court also 



IN VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS 21 

levied taxes, provided for roads and bridges, appointed 
surveyors or overseers of highways and marked off their 
districts, appointed constables, made ferry rates, voted 
bounty on wolf scalps, granted licenses, admitted attor- 
neys to practice, etc. It was the governing power of 
the county. 

In all these respects the county court was almost 
exactly like the English court of quarter sessions, ex- 
cept that it met oftener. There was, however, a meet- 
ing of the freemen of the county once a year for 
the election of burgesses. This was like the English 
county court in which the voters met for the purpose 
of electing members of Parliament. In Virginia, as 
in England, such meetings were presided over by the 
sheriff. 

Conditions in Massachusetts. We must now return 
to the northern colony, where a very different system 
grew up. Conditions in Massachusetts were as favor- 
able to the growth of towns as those in Virginia were 
unfavorable. In the first place the settlers came as 
church congregations.^ They wished to settle close 
together in order to attend the same church. So they 
bought or took land, not as individuals, but as organized 
companies. Then, too, the soil and the climate were 
both against extensive farming. Each family was satis- 
fied with a few acres, and therefore the entire congre- 
gation was able to group itself compactly around the 
church as a centre. As time went on a considerable 
number of such groups was to be found in Massachu- 
setts and the other northern colonies. This was the 
origin of the New England townships. We see at once 
that they were very much like the parishes in England. 
Like them they took care of church matters ; like them 

1 See on this topic Bryce, American Commonivealthy edition of 
1894, i. 590, 591. 



22 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

they also had a number of things to do which did not 
strictly pertain to the church, but were political in their 
nature. 

Township Government. Since these little communi- 
ties were separated from others of the same kind, and 
since the general court was far away and the quarter ses- 
sions court likewise, it came about naturally that they 
managed their political affairs almost as completely as 
their church affairs. For this purpose they held an 
"annual town meeting,"^ in March, which was attended 
by the freemen. In this meeting all matters relating to 
the welfare of the townsmen were discussed and deter- 
mined upon. Taxes were levied for almost every imag- 
inable purpose, from the payment of the minister and 
schoolmaster to a bounty for killing a wolf. Selectmen 
were chosen, three, five, or seven ^ in number, who had 
general charge of town affairs during the year and could 
call special meetings. Among their duties were the 
care of the poor, the oversight of schools, and the laying 
out and care of roads. In the numerous cases where the 
town became a populous place, like Boston, the select- 
men actually performed the duties of a city govern- 
ment. 

Next in importance to the selectmen was the town 
clerk. He kept a record of all town meetings, and also 
of such important matters as births, deaths, and mar- 
riages. These town records have often been preserved 
without a break for nearly three hundred years. Many 
New England towns have recently published them, to 
the great advantage of historical study. In their pages 
the student can see the tract of wild land become the 
home of industrious farmers ; the farms divide up into 
village lots ; the village become an important town, and 
J gee Bryee, i. 594-598. 2 Boston had nine. 



IN VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS 23 

the town grow into a great modern city, like Boston, 
Worcester, or Springfield. 

Some of the other officers of the town were the treas- 
urer, who collected and paid out all town moneys ; the 
assessor, who made lists of the property for purposes 
of taxation ; the surveyors of highways, or road super- 
visors ; the clerk of the market, who enforced all market 
regulations ; the fence-viewer, who saw to it that all 
fences were of the required height and strength to keep 
out stock ; and the pound-keeper, whose business it was 
to take up stray animals. 

Antiquity of the Town Meeting. The early New 
England township was usually a village. Its inhabitants 
were related, not by blood, but by church fellowship. 
Therefore it was very much like the groups of families 
which dwelt in the villages of the early Germans and of 
the Anglo-Saxons in England. The similarity does not 
stop here. Some of the earliest New England towns 
actually had common fields, and many of them had a 
common pasture and woodland. In these " commons,'* 
some of which remain to this day as city parks, the vil- 
lagers pastured their cows and fattened ^ their pigs, as 
did our ancestors of two thousand years ago. 

The Massachusetts County. It is clear from what 
has been said of the importance of the townships that 
comparatively little work remained for the county gov- 
ernment in Massachusetts. Counties were mainly use- 
ful as districts of convenient size for the management 
of the courts and the militia, something like the hun- 
dreds in early England and the cantons among the Ger- 
mans. It was to bring the court nearer to the people 
that the counties were formed in the first place. In 
early times the county had its quarter sessions, which 

^ On the " mast " or fall of acorns, etc. 



24 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

had judicial powers similar to those of the Virginia 
county court. It also performed certain other duties, 
such as licensing ferries and houses of entertainment, 
regulating tolls, and laying out county roads. The county 
government of Massachusetts was therefore not far dif- 
ferent in origin from that of Virginia. But a difference 
grew up with the great activity of the towns, which drew 
to themselves an increasing share of the local business. 
Notwithstanding their similarity in origin, the systems of 
Virginia and Massachusetts, as finally fixed by custom 
and use, were radically different. This fact has become 
prominent in the course of the last century. With the 
westward march of American institutions there is a con- 
stant reappearance of these two types of local govern- 
ment. 

SUMMARY 

England planted her first American colony at Jamestown in 
1607. Another colony was begun at Plymouth in 1620, and 
one at Massachusetts Bay about 1630. Other colonies fol- 
lowed. The colonists came with English ideas of government 
in mind; and they established the English system of local 
government by counties and parishes (or townships) in each 
colony, so far as local conditions would permit. But con- 
ditions differed in the different colonies. In Virginia, on 
account of tobacco culture, the people were very much scat- 
tered, and it was difficult to have parish meetings. So the 
business of local government was mainly in the hands of the 
county court, which was made up of justices appointed by 
the governor of the colony. 

In Massachusetts the people settled as church congrega- 
tions and formed villages or townships. These townships 
had almost complete self-government, but were grouped into 
counties mainly for judicial and military reasons. 



CHAPTER II 

EXPANSION OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS 

Influence of Virginia and New England on the 
Other Colonies. We have seen that the form of local 
government adopted by the people of New England 
was the township form, while that of Virginia was the 
county form. It was only natural that as the other 
colonies were planted and grew up in the neighborhood 
of New England or of Virginia they should be more or 
less influenced by these systems. We know that Vir- 
ginians, for example, had much to do with the early 
history of the Carolinas, for many Virginia people had 
settled in that country even before the Carolina colonies 
were legally formed. Virginia also had a good deal of 
influence on the growth of Maryland. 

Likewise New England people removed early to New 
York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and it is certain 
that many of the ideas on local government which are 
found in these states were derived from the '* Yankees." 

As a result the southern states of the Atlantic group 
all have something like the Virginia system of county 
government, while the northern states have a system 
which is generally much more like that of New Eng- 
land. Thus when the great westward movement began, 
there were two distinct forms of local government which 
the settlers carried with them into the wilderness. 
Those from the South took with them the Virginia 
county, and its government by a few oflicers; those 



26 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

from the North carried the New England township and 
the town meeting. 

These facts might not have had so much importance 
if there had been a general mingling of people of the 
two sections in the new states. But as a matter of 
fact, American expansion has taken place, not from the 
eastern states as a whole, but from the South as a sec- 
tion and the North as a section. 

Expansion of the South Westward. During co- 
lonial times the people of Virginia and the South pushed 
gradually up the rivers which have their sources in the 
Blue Ridge Mountains. Then they took possession of 
the great valley between the Blue Ridge and the Alle- 
ghanies. George Washington as a young man spent 
much of his time surveying lands in this region, which 
was then the " far West." Finally, just before the Revo- 
lution Daniel Boone and other pioneers from Virginia 
and North Carolina crossed over to Kentucky.^ These 
were the first real settlers west of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains. They were attracted by the beauty of the coun- 
try, the abundance of wild game, and the fertility of 
the soil. These causes continued to draw the restless 
American on and on, till the Great River was reached 
and crossed, the prairies were left behind, the mountains 
conquered, and the rich valleys of the Pacific won for 
the Union and for civilization. 

Kentucky became a state in 1792, and Tennessee in 
1796. The more southerly territory was found to be 
the best kind of cotton land, and the raising of cotton 
now became almost as much of a craze as tobacco plant- 
ing was in early Virginia. Alabama, Mississippi, and 
Louisiana therefore soon filled up with settlers, and 
were added to the list of states. In 1821 Missouri, away 

1 See Roosevelt, The Winning of the West^'x. 26,27; alsoch. xi. 



EXPANSION OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS 2/ 

out upon the Indian frontier, was added, and yet the 
demand for good cotton land was not supphed. Off to 
the southwest lay Texas, which was originally a colony 
of Mexico. It was known to have a great area of excel- 
lent land. So the southern planters sold or abandoned 
their wornout fields in the older states, and with cara- 
v^ans of wagons, droves of cattle, and bands of negro 
slaves emigrated to Texas. Soon there was a rebellion, 
in which Texas secured its independence of Mexico, and 
in 1845 this great state was admitted into the Union. 

From the frontiers of Missouri went forth the trains 
of emigrants who between 1830 and 1850 settled Oregon 
and California. 

Expansion of the North Westward. After the close 
of the Revolutionary War many New England people 
were anxious to find new homes on the free lands of the 
West. They organized companies, bought from Con- 
gress large tracts in the Ohio country, and started a 
general emigration. Ohio soon became a state. After 
the war of 18 12 the number of emigrants increased 
very rapidly, so that Indiana and Illinois, settled partly 
from the South but principally from the North, were 
both admitted to the Union before 1820. Then the 
New Englanders pushed northward into Michigan and 
Wisconsin, and crossed the Mississippi into Iowa and 
Minnesota. All of these states in turn had a part in 
the settlement of the great prairie region of Nebraska, 
Kansas, and the Dakotas. The northern movement, 
like the southern, crossed the continent, leaving its 
trace in the names of places planted in its course. 

Westward Extension of Northern and Southern 
Institutions. These two movements, from the South 
and from the North, were essentially the same in char- 
acter. They were genuine expansions of society. But 



28 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the institutions of these two expanding societies differed 
greatly, and these differences reappeared in the new 
states. Especially is this true with respect to the forms 
of local government. In Kentucky, Tennessee, and the 
other southwestern states we find the county form ; in 
Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin the township 
form prevails. 

SUMMARY 

The system of local government planted in Virginia influ- 
enced the other southern colonies, which generally developed 
the county form. The Massachusetts system influenced 
the other northern colonies, so that they developed the 
township form. 

As population increased, people from the old South moved 
westward and settled the new southern states ; and in like 
manner people from the old North settled the new northern 
states. These two movements continued until the continent 
had been crossed. 

The new states settled from the South developed the 
county form of local government ; the new states settled from 
the North generally developed the township form. 



CHAPTER III 

THE COUNTY SYSTEM IN THE WEST 

An Oregon County. The way in which the emi- 
grating people carried their institutions with them is 
well illustrated in the case of Oregon. Her pioneers 
were mainly from the southwestern states. They came 
from Missouri, and from Kentucky and Tennessee. At 
home they were used to some form of the Virginia 
county government. So when they established them- 
selves in the Willamette Valley they set up that system 
there, three thousand miles from the place of its birth. 

These points can be made clear by an example. The 
first term of the commissioners' court for Lane County 
began September 6, 1852, but no work was done till the 
8th. There were two commissioners at first, and after- 
wards three. Their first act was to determine which of 
them should have the three years and which the two 
years term, and apparently they drew lots for this 
purpose. 

Next they " Ordered, . . . that all courts of record in 
and for said county be held at Eugene City in said 
county." Now the regular business of the court began. 
A petition of twelve householders was received, '^pray- 
ing for the location of a county road " from a certain 
place to a certain place. " Court ordered a road accord- 
ing to the prayer of said petition, and appointed the 
following named persons commissioners to locate said 
road." ** Ordered a license to be granted to to 



30 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

keep a grocery in Lane County for one year." ** Or- 
dered the issuing of orders on the treasury for the 
payment of the court and its officers." Attested by 
, Clerk. 

At the next session "viewers" were appointed to 
inspect a road which had been petitioned for ; election 
precincts were established; justices of the peace were 
appointed, and their precincts determined. The court 
" laid off the township in the Forks of the Willamette 
into three road districts." They were numbered i, 2, 
and 3, and a road supervisor was appointed for each. A 
grand jury of twenty-three men was appointed for the 
next term of the district court, and two petit juries of 
twelve men were named for the same occasion. It will 
be remembered that the grand jury had the duty of pre- 
senting persons for trial, and the other jury tried them 
and brought in verdicts of "guilty" or "not guilty." 

We will simply indicate some of the kinds of business 
that came before this court at its sessions during the 
next eight or ten years. In number of pages the road 
business is far in the lead. At every session numerous 
petitions were received for making new roads or changing 
old ones ; viewers were appointed, and the reports of those 
previously appointed were received. Ferries required 
much attention. Licenses were granted to individuals 
to run ferries at various points on the Willamette. 
Sometimes the petition of one man was met by a pro- 
test from a ferryman whose business was threatened by 
the new venture, and the court had to decide between 
the two. Ferry tolls were adopted ; so much for a 
team and wagon, so much for a horse, a cow, a pig, a 
sheep, etc. 

The court created the first school districts ; it ap- 
pointed the county superintendent, at least in the 



THE COUNTY SYSTEM IN THE WEST 3 1 

numerous cases of vacancy, and voted money for the 
support of common schools. It levied all taxes ; it 
required bonds of the treasurer and other officers ; it 
took care of the property of widows and orphans. It 
provided asylums for the insane and support for the pau- 
pers of the county, received grants of land for a towf 
site, ordered the town platted, sold lots, laid out a court* 
house square, and built a court house. 

The principal officer of the court was the county 
clerk, who kept its records and issued all papers re- 
quired by its orders. He also recorded all deeds, mort- 
gages, and other instruments. 

Examination of the court records convinces one that 
the actual government of the county at this early time 
was in the hands of the three men who composed the 
commissioners' court. 

The Present County Governnient in Oregon.^ Com- 
missioners' Court. The system is nearly the same now 
as it was in the earlier years referred to. There is first 
the commissioners' court, composed of two commis- 
sioners, chosen at large by the voters of the county, and 
the county judge chosen in the same way. This court 
has all the legislative power exercised by the county, 
a power greater in amount than that exercised by the 
county boards in states like Wisconsin, Iowa, and 
Nebraska, because there are no townships in Oregon. 

The County Judge. Besides being the presiding 
officer of the commissioners' court when in session, the 
county judge holds separate judicial sessions. His busi- 
ness is of two kinds, ordinary civil business and pro- 
bate business. 

^ This description also has reference to Lane County. There 
are. slight local differences, owing to differences in population, 
etc. 



32 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

As probate judge he has special charge of the estates 
of deceased persons, proving wills, appointing administra- 
tors in cases where persons dying leave no will, settling 
the claims of creditors, and caring for the interests of 
widows and orphans. 

In civil matters the county judge has power to try 
cases involving not more than ;^500. Very few cases of 
any importance come before him, for parties to a suit 
prefer to wait for the session of the circuit court, to 
which the case is always likely to be taken on appeal if 
first brought before the county court. Much expense 
may be saved by bringing the case into the circuit 
court at once. However, many minor cases are finally 
disposed of by the county court, greatly to the con- 
venience of the parties concerned. The county judge 
has no jurisdiction in criminal cases, but may issue 
warrants for the arrest of suspected persons and 
bind them over to appear before the grand jury. 
Aside from these he has various other duties, in part 
as the representative of the commissioners' court and 
in part as the chief permanent judicial officer of the 
county. 

The Sheriff is the highest police officer and sees that 
the "majesty of the law" is upheld throughout the 
county. He commands men to keep the peace, arrests 
disturbers and criminals, or suspected persons, takes 
care of prisoners, and executes the sentence of the court 
upon convicts. He must put down riots, and has the 
power to call upon all able-bodied men of the county 
(except members of the militia) for that purpose. If 
this force is insufficient he may call upon the governor 
of the state for military aid. 

The sheriff also executes the decrees of the county 
and circuit courts respecting attachments for debt, sale 



THE COUNTY SYSTEM IN THE WEST 33 

of the property of bankrupts, etc. He is also the col- 
lector of taxes.^ 

The County Treasurer receives the moneys belonging' 
to the county and cares for them, paying claims against 
the county on warrants issued by the county clerk. He 
has no part in the collection of taxes, as he has in most 
of the states. 

The first thing to be done when a tax is to be raised 
is to get a complete list of the property upon which it 
is to be levied, with the value of each item. This list 
is made by the county assessor. Since he cannot visit 
all the property owners of the county within the time 
he has to make his return, he appoints a deputy for each 
election precinct, to do this part of the work. The asses- 
sor then makes up his completed list from the separate 
returns. 

The School Superintendent. One of the most impor- 
tant of the county officers is the school superintendent, 
who has general oversight of the common schools. He 
has the duty of examining and issuing certificates to 
teachers, visiting the schools and making suggestions 
for their improvement, advising directors and teachers 
in school matters, issuing completion certificates to com- 
mon school graduates, etc. 

The Coroner. The office of coroner, once of very 
considerable importance in England, has never been of 
much consequence in any American state. In Oregon 
the coroner has the customary duty of holding inquests 
over the bodies of those dying under suspicious circum- 
stances, and of serving the process of the court in cases 
in which the sheriff has a personal interest. 

^ This is not true in other states at present, but in colonial Vir- 
ginia the sheriff collected the tobacco paid in as taxes, and the 
English sheriff had been the king's collector many centuries before 
the colonists came to America. 



34 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The County Surveyors* duties are to establish lines 
and corners, to supervise the construction of the more 
important bridges, to survey roads laid out by the 
county, etc. In the growing interest in good roads the 
county surveyor bids fair to become an officer of great 
importance to the county. 

The County Clerk. Last, but to the historian by no 
means the least, of the county officers is the county 
clerk. He keeps in his vaults the accumulated records 
of the county, so that his office is the place to study 
county history. He really has the duties of several 
officers, being the auditor of accounts, recorder of deeds 
and other instruments, and clerk of the commissioners' 
court, the county court, and the circuit court. In fact, 
nearly all the business of the county leaves some trace 
in the extensive records of the county clerk's office. 

Three Classes of 'Work. In the above we have indi- 
cated three distinct classes of work done by county 
officers. The first class is legislative, performed by 
the commissioners' court ; the second is judicial ; and 
the third is executive or administrative. There is some 
mingling of these duties, but on the whole such a classi- 
fication will hold. We shall see a similar division of 
duties in Wisconsin, where the county board legislates, 
the county judge judges, and the other county officers 
execute or administer. A little reflection will show that 
this division runs through all governmental forms. 



SUMMARY 

The county system of local government, originating in Vir- 
ginia, was carried to Oregon by the pioneers, who were largely 
from the southwestern states settled from Virginia and the 
old South. Lane County, Oregon, was in the early time 



THE COUNTY SYSTEM IN THE WEST 35 

governed by a commissioners' court, which was very much 
like the county court in Virginia, so far as its powers were 
concerned. Its members, however, were chosen by the peo- 
ple. Other county officers were in general appointed by the 
commissioners' court. 

At present the commissioners' court still legislates for the 
county, but the county judge holds separate judicial sessions. 
The people also elect nearly all of the administrative or 
executive officers of the county. 

There are thus three kinds of work done in the county gov- 
ernment, legislative, judicial, and executive. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM IN THE WEST 

A Wisconsin ^ Township. As the Virginia county 
appeared on the Pacific Coast about the middle of the 
century, so the Massachusetts township was found in 
the Mississippi Valley about the same time. The early 
settlement of Wisconsin was made by people from New 
England and states having a New England parentage. 
Its local institutions were therefore of the Massachu- 
setts type. In fact, with very slight changes, the fol- 
lowing description of the township system and the 
town meeting would apply as well to Massachusetts as 
to Wisconsin. It would also apply to the other states 
having township government. Let us see from an 
actual example what the Wisconsin township was. 

In Grant County, which borders on the Mississippi 
and Wisconsin rivers, there is a township known as 
Castle Rock. Its territory is a regular surveyor s town- 
ships six miles square, and there is no town whatever in 
the ordinary sense of the term. It is simply an area in 
the hill country occupied by a farming population. The 
farms are small, ranging from forty to about five hun- 
dred acres. There are two river valleys, each about a 
mile wide, extending through the town from south to 
north, but the rest of the country is rough and difificult 
of access. A towering mass of rock about sixty feet 
high gives rise to the name Castle Rock. 

1 For accounts of the township system in Illinois, see Bryce, i. 
601-605 ; and for Michigan, 605, 606. 



THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM IN THE WEST 37 

The town is divided into school districts, each of 
which has its school, and there are also road districts, 
usually ten or twelve in number. These features are 
partially shown on the accompanying map. 



■JToWnsPrrp Li'ne 

Section Line 
.School Dlst'r.ict 
_Road District 
Road 

M !u s c d a 




I 



I Joint School District 
1.1 



.With Highland P 
1 2-Tow'nship ^ 
H. In Highland 

. Joint School District : 5 O 
\ J ^^___ ir|._. 

"PS 6 

I X 



Joint SchQofDistrict | 
35 No'. 9. 36 
With VVingville 



o 



o 
I- ^ 




W i n g V i I I e 

i I School: House in I 

i Wingville ' 

Map of Castle Rock, showing Sections, School Districts, and Specimen 

Road District. 



Each school district has its meeting in July, at which 
the officers for the year are chosen, a tax is levied for the 
support of the school or for building purposes, and the 



38 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

length of term agreed upon. Sometimes the teacher is 
selected in these meetings, and it is usually determined 
whether to employ a man or a woman as teacher. The 
general affairs of the district are always discussed.^ 

The Town Meeting. The annual town meeting is 
held on the first Tuesday in April. The place is the 
"Rock School House," standing near the centre of the 
town. Roads are always bad at that season of the year, 
just at the breaking up of winter, and there is much 
difficulty in reaching the place. Yet almost every voter 
within six miles square is in attendance. It is safe to 
say the spring meeting is fully as well attended as the 
general election for the choice of state and county 
officers, and even a presidential election does not 
usually bring out a fuller vote. Farmers, their sons, 
and their hired hands are all there, and are all active in 
one way or another. The business of legislation in- 
volves much bargaining, and this is a legislature. One 
end of the town wants a new bridge across Blue River, 
the other wants votes for its candidate for chairman. 
Here is a chance for "log rolling." ^ 

The candidates are usually on the spot early in the 
day. They lie in wait to greet the farmers as they ap- 
proach by team, on foot, or on horseback. Most con- 
spicuous, of course, are the various candidates for the 
office of chairman of the board of supervisors, who 
is always spoken of as chairman or town chairman. 
His campaign is arranged in advance. The men seek- 
ing this office usually go about the town some days or 
weeks before the day of meeting, and "fix up" the 
tickets which their names are to head. 

The ticket is a list of names of those who are candi- 

^ At the school meeting women may vote as well as men ; they 
may also hold school offices. 

2 This is the term applied to such " trading " in politics. 



THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM IN THE WEST 39 

dates of this faction or that faction of the voters. Some- 
times the national party names are used, the ticket 
being headed Republican Ticket, or Democratic Ticket. 
More often no name is affixed, but it goes by the name 
of the would-be chairman, as the "Gore" ticket or the 
** Sylvester " ticket. The names are arranged in the 
order of the supposed importance of the offices, thus : 

Board of Supervisors ^ . . . . H G {Chairman) 

M S 

F E 

Treasurer ^ J S 

Town Clerk « N — - O 

Assessor* I B 

Justices of the Peace ^ . . . . H D 

J V 

O J 

Constables® A O 

F S . 

J F 

1 The board of supervisors corresponds to the " selectmen " in 
many eastern states. These three men (and especially the chair- 
man) have general oversight of the affairs of the town and repre- 
sent the town in its corporate capacity. If the town is sued, the 
process is served on the board. 

2 The treasurer collects, cares for, and pays out the moneys of 
the town. 

s The clerk keeps the town records, and makes out the tax roll, 

* The assessor visits each resident property owner and makes 
a list of his real and personal property, with the value of each item. 
On this *' assessor's list " the taxes for each person are computed 
by the clerk. 

^ The justices of the peace are petty judicial officers. They may 
try civil suits of minor importance, and also petty criminal offenses, 
such as " assault and battery." They may also administer oaths, 
issue warrants for the arrest of suspected persons, bind men to 
keep the peace, hold preliminary investigations, perform the cere- 
mony of civil marriage, etc. 

® The constables are the police officers of the town. It is their 



40 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Usually the tickets are written out on narrow strips 
of paper, which are handed about by the candidates and 
their supporters. Voters may either "vote the ticket 
straight," or " scratch " it, as they prefer. When it is 
arranged to suit them, they are ready to vote. 

The voter passes his ticket folded to the chairman, 
who calls out the name of the person offering it, and 
then drops it through a slot into the ballot-box. The 
name is recorded by two clerks. The other members of 
the town board act as judges of election. At sunset the 
voting ceases and the count begins.^ 

As the voting proceeds, the business also proceeds. 
The chairman is seated on a high box or stool, in order 
that he may be easily seen in the dense crowd, and at 
the same time be able to insert tickets in the ballot-box. 

The report of the town treasurer is of greatest in- 
terest, because it shows how much money was raised at 
the last meeting and how it has been expended. 

The tax levy is the most important business. It is 
customary to divide it into items. Some one moves that 
the town raise $150 for bridges. The motion is adopted. 
Another $100 is set aside for the care of the town poor. 
The sum of ^250 is voted for roads. This the property 
owners are allowed to work out? A motion to raise ^200 
for town expenses, which means the pay of the officers, 
brings on a debate, but is finally carried. Several of 

duty to prevent lawlessness and violence, to arrest disturbers of 
the peace, if found in the act, or, in case of suspected criminals, on 
a warrant issued by a justice of the peace. They serve judicial 
and other notices, and in general are at the service of the justices 
and the board of supervisors. 

1 Since the Australian ballot law has been applied to towns, 
many changes have been made in the manner of voting. 

2 That is, they are allowed to pay the tax in work of men or 
teams instead of paying in money. The rule is to allow ^1.50 per 
day for a man, and the same for a team. 



THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM IN THE WEST 41 

the officers, the clerk, treasurer, and assessor, receive 
;^50 each for their services as a matter of custom. The 
remaining ;^50 goes to the supervisors, ^20 to the chair- 
man, and ^15 to each of the other two. Justices and 
constables are paid entirely in fees. 

The business began with the reading of the reports of 
officers. It ends with the election of road supervisors. 
There are no candidates, for no one wants the office. 
Some one names a man for District Number i. The 
nomination is seconded, the vote follows, and he is 
elected as a matter of course. The process is repeated 
until all the districts are provided for. This vote is not 
by ballot, but by "majority of voices." It is simply 
accident if a man of the proper qualifications is chosen 
in any district. 

The Importance of the Town Meeting. This meet- 
ing of citizens has nevertheless a deep significance. It 
is the one meeting of a political nature in which every 
grown man of the town takes a direct part, and every 
one feels on returning home that he has personally 
exercised some influence on public affairs. Moreover, 
what he sees and hears there gives him a better insight 
into public affairs of a larger nature. He is better pre- 
pared to understand the county government because of 
his part in the town government. The affairs of the 
state and even of the nation seem plainer to one who 
has seen and heard the doings of the town meeting. 
It is a great school of practical politics. 

Relations with the County, In Wisconsin, as in 
New York and several other states, the general affairs 
of the county are cared for by a county board. This 
body is made up of the chairmen, or, as they are called 
in New York where the system originated, the super- 



42 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

visors of the several towns. The county government is 
therefore based directly on the towns. 

The county board is a sort of legislature. It levies 
the taxes for the support of the county ; it undertakes 
public improvements, such as erecting county buildings ; 
it has charge of the county poor-farm and poor-house ; 
and it lays out the more important highways. In short, 
the county board in Wisconsin does many of the things 
which are done by the commissioners' court in Oregon. 
It does not do all, however, because part are attended 
to by the town meeting. 

The County Officers. In Wisconsin, as in Oregon, 
each county has certain county officers chosen every two 
years at the general election in November. They in- 
clude a sheriff, a clerk of the circuit court, a treasurer, 
a registrar of deeds, a county clerk, a superintendent of 
schools, a coroner, and a surveyor. Their duties are 
similar to those described for the Oregon county offi- 
cers. There is also a county judge, who attends to the 
probate business, and is chosen at the election in April 
for a term of four years. 

SUMMARY. 

The township system was planted in the West by the early 
settlers, who came from New England and the other northern 
states. All the voters, as a rule, attend the annual town 
meeting and take a part in the management of town affairs. 
They also elect the town officers. In this way the common 
people gain a good deal of valuable political education. 

In Wisconsin the county board is composed of the chair- 
men of the several town boards. All legislative work required 
by the county is performed by this county board. There is 
also a county judge, whose work is judicial ; and there are 
several administrative or executive officers. 



CHAPTER V 

PRESENT TENDENCIES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

Tendency toward the Township Form. A very 
interesting fact of recent American history is the tend- 
ency, in many states which began with the county sys- 
tem, toward the township form of local self-government. 
The county system has great advantages under such 
conditions as existed in colonial Virginia. It is admi- 
rably adapted to the needs of a state in which popula- 
tion is sparse. That was the main reason for its adop- 
tion there. For the same reason, and on account of its 
greater cheapness, it has been adopted by nearly all 
the prairie states. But as population increases there 
appears a disposition to want town government.^ The 
change has been encouraged by two facts, the township 
method of surveying public lands, and the development 
of the public school system. 

1 Illinois furnishes an instructive example of the way in which 
the county form of local government has had to give way to the 
township form. This State was settled first from the south, and 
when the first State Constitution was framed in 1818, provision was 
made for the county system only. In the Constitution of 1848 
counties were permitted to vote, if they chose to do so, on the 
question of adopting the township system. By that time a large 
number of New England people, moving westward by way of the 
Erie Canal and the Great Lakes, had settled in the northern part 
of the State. Therefore, most of the northern counties adopted the 
township system. Since that time many of the counties at first 
organized under the county system have changed to the township 
system, so that, practically, Illinois now has the township system. 



44 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Land Surveys. The present system of land surveys 
was adopted in 1785. By it the whole country settled 
since that time has been laid off into uniform blocks of 
six miles square.^ This was the size and shape of the 
townships often granted by the colonial governments 
in New England to companies of men who wished to 
settle on wild land. For this reason these later tracts 
were called townships. By way of distinction they are 
usually spoken of as congressional townships, because 
they have been laid off under the surveys ordered by 
Congress. It was not unnatural to expect that local 
governments would grow up in these township areas, 
and this has actually been the case in most of the north- 
ern states.^ In those which started with the county 
system the law sometimes provides that the people 
of any congressional township may form a civil town- 
ship. In North Dakota, while the county as a whole 
has the commissioner system, some of the squares of 
which it is made up are independent of the commis- 
sioners as far as local matters are concerned. In these 
the townships are said to be " organized," which means 
that the people have adopted the township government. 
The number of these organized townships is constantly 
increasing. 

^ Texas, secured by annexation after being partly settled under a 
different system of surveying, is an exception to this statement. 
Titles to property are not disturbed, as a rule, by annexation or con- 
quest. 

2 Of course there are many variations from the regular surveyor's 
township area in the civil townships of the northern states, and 
these variations constantly tend to increase ; but the surveyor's 
township has always been looked upon as the natural area for the 
civil township, and in a very large proportion of cases, especially in 
the newer states, the civil townships are actually contained in the 
surveyor's squares. 



TENDENCIES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 45 

Public School Reservations. In the townships 
granted by the colonial governments of Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont, it was cus- 
tomary to make reservations. That is to say, these 
tracts were granted to a company of proprietors for 
their own benefit, but on the condition that certain 
shares of the land be set aside by them for public uses. 
The entire grant was usually cut up into sixty-three 
shares, and it was common to reserve three shares. 
One of these was " for the first settled minister," and 
another for the ministry, which means that whoever 
might be the minister of the town church, he should 
always have the use of this land. But there was also 
one share for " the school or schools.'* This custom be- 
gan at least as early as 1 704, and was regularly followed 
from that time. Now when, in 1787, the Continental 
Congress sold several million acres of land in Ohio 
to companies of New Englanders who wished to settle 
there, it agreed to set aside one section out of the thirty- 
six making up each township, to be reserved for the 
use of schools forever. The famous document called the 
" Ordinance of 1787," which was drawn up for the purpose 
of forming a government in the Ohio country, declares 
that " religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary 
to good government, schools and the means of education 
shall forever be encouraged." After that, whenever 
Congress admitted a new state into the Union, it gave 
to it one section in every township of land, to be held 
in trust for the benefit of the common schools in that 
state. Later it became customary to reserve two sec- 
tions in each township.^ 

These lands have usually been sold and the money 

^ Oregon, admitted to the Union in 1859, was the first state that 
received two sections. 



46 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

invested in a permanent fund. Of this the interest is 
divided among the schools in proportion to the number 
of pupils. Other moneys have been added to the school 
fund in many states, making it often a very large sum. 
It is known as the state school fund. Such funds have 
helped greatly in developing the school systems of new 
states, and there has been a remarkable growth. 

The Comnion Schools. In general there is now a 
school within reach of every home in the land. These 
schools belong to the people of the neighborhood, 
although some part of their support comes from the 
state fund. The people are expected to tax themselves 
for any needed sums ; they must keep up the building 
and provide appliances ; and some sort of organization 
is necessary for this work. 

In the management of school matters the principle 
of self-government is applied. Commonly the towns or 
counties are divided into districts of such a size that a 
central school will accommodate all the children. But 
in a few states the schools are grouped into school town' 
ships. When that is done, either the old civil township 
or the congressional township is made the basis. But 
whether there are school districts or school townships, 
all voters may attend and take part in the school meet- 
ing. This affords many of the advantages of the town 
meeting in the way of political education. 

A most interesting effect of such local gatherings is 
the tendency they have to become more than mere 
school meetings. In North Dakota, for example, the 
congressional townships are school townships. This 
gives the people an annual meeting. As a result, they 
come to want self-government in other matters. Soon 
they petition to be allowed a town government, and 
having this they hold their spring meeting, elect officers, 
and tax themselves for local purposes. 



TENDENCIES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 4/ 

Self -Government on the Increase. Americans have 
a strong disposition toward self-government. Wherever 
self-government seems to suit the conditions best, the 
people are constantly finding ways to do more of the 
work of governing directly, instead of committing it to 
a few of their number as representatives. Thus in Vir- 
ginia, where in colonial times the people hardly had any 
voice in local affairs, they now have at least three divi- 
sions in each county, in which they choose, every two 
years, "a. supervisor, a constable, an overseer of the 
poor, and three justices of the peace." ^ These divi- 
sions are further subdivided into school districts. 

In Oregon, also, the government, in the fifties, was in 
the hands of three commissioners, who appointed con- 
stables, justices of the peace, and road supervisors. At 
present there are fifty precincts in Lane County, each 
of which elects a constable, a justice of the peace, and 
one or more road supervisors. The county is also 
divided into school districts which have self-government. 



SUMMARY 

At present there is a tendency, especially in the newer 
states which began with the county system, to change to the 
township system of local government. This is due to the 
strong desire of Americans to take a personal part in political 
affairs. 

The change to the township form is made easier by two 
things : (a) by the method of surveying government lands, in 
" townships " six miles square, which are convenient areas 
for political townships ; (d) by the development of the com- 
mon school system, which gives the people of districts or 
school townships a democratic meeting. 

^ Howard, Local Constitutional History, page 232. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS AND ROADS ^ 

The Necessity of a Good Common School System. 
All Americans understand that in a government like our own 
general education is of the first importance. Since all citizens 
have a part in the government, the character of the people 
necessarily determines the character of the government. With 
a highly intelligent and moral body of citizens, the govern- 
ment, in all its branches, will be well managed. Laws will 
be wisely framed and carefully executed ; life and property 
will be secure ; the rights of private citizens in all respects 
will be faithfully guarded, and the money paid by the people 
in the form of taxes will be honestly and wisely used. 

Under such conditions only can the highest prosperity of 
the people be attained, and to secure these conditions we 
have established the system of free public schools. It is 
right that all should pay taxes for their support. But the 
people have a right to demand that the schools maintained 
by their money be as good as it is possible to make them. 
This has not always been the case. Often the schools of 
entire states have been grossly mismanaged. Much depends 
on the plan under which they are carried on. The most 
common way, as we have seen, has been to divide the towns 
or the counties into districts, each of which has its school, 
managed by a local board. 

Origin of the School District. As early as 1647 the 

1 This chapter deals more fully with two important features of 
local government, but since it is not essential to the general under- 
standing of the subject, it may be studied or not, at the discretion of 
the teacher. 



MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS AND ROADS 49 

towns in Massachusetts were required to maintain schools. 
Let us see how this was done in a particular case. In a cer- 
tain town the control of school matters was at first in the 
hands of the selectmen. There were no districts, and a 
single school served for the whole town. After a while dis- 
satisfaction arose on account of the distance some had to go 
to reach it, and to equalize matters the school was kept at 
four different places during the year. Since the term was 
twelve months, this gave to each quarter of the town a three- 
months term. Persons from all parts of the town were equally- 
entitled to attend, no matter in what quarter the school 
happened to be. But naturally enough people soon thought 
it impossible to attend when it was at a considerable dis- 
tance. So the school practically became four schools, each 
of which accommodated a particular section of the township. 
When there came to be a demand for a longer term than 
three months, the different sections had different teachers. 
Then they built a schoolhouse in each quarter. At last a 
wholly distinct organization arose for the management of the 
schools. The selectmen of the town were no longer in con- 
trol, but in their place was a board of directors chosen in 
each division of the town. This case illustrates the way in 
which the independent school district originated. 

Defects of the Independent District System. About 
the year 1830 a great educational movement began. The 
common schools had become very defective, lifeless, and un- 
profitable. Great reformers arose, like Horace Mann, who 
insisted that something must be done. First, it was neces- 
sary to find out what was wrong. When the schools were 
examined with that point in view, one of the weak spots in 
the system was found to be in the independent district. 

Many reasons led to this conclusion. First, the school 
officers were chosen from too small an area. There are 
pretty sure to be some able, careful, public-spirited men in a 
whole township ; but it may well happen that in a small dis- 
trict there are too few of that class to fill the places on the 
board. Secondly, the smallness of the district belittles the 



50 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

importance of the office. A town officer who cares for large 
hiterests is looked up to with a good deal of respect ; but a 
school director receives little or no honor. A third and more 
important point is that the independent schools are apart by 
themselves, and have little connection with the educational 
world. They therefore get into ruts, and lose all spirit and 
enterprise. The semi-annual visit of the county superin- 
tendent can do little to arouse a whole school community. 
The district gets into the habit of voting just money enough 
to pay for running the school on the cheapest possible basis 
for the shortest time allowed by the law, and the children are 
the sufferers. Then, too, when districts are once formed, it is 
hard to change them. Population often decreases, leaving the 
district with an insufficient number of pupils to make a live 
school, and in like proportion the means of support falls off. 
There are many such dying schools all over the country. 

The Township System of School Management. As 
a partial remedy the educational reformers proposed that 
the townships be made the unit in school matters, as they 
once were. It was thought that such a change would help 
the schools in several ways. It would place all the schools 
of the township under a single board, selected from the whole 
town. This would give uniformity, unity, and efficiency to the 
management. The schools of the township could be so lo- 
cated that each would have a sufficient number of pupils, and 
not too many. All would of course have an equal part of the 
town fund for schools. Moreover, it would make possible more 
perfect supervision. The county superintendent cannot pos- 
sibly visit the schools often enough to greatly affect their 
work. His territory is too large for effective supervision. 
Some leading teacher, or a special officer employed for that 
purpose, could be made superintendent of the schools of the 
town. This would make the schools better acquainted with 
one another and give to each the benefit of new ideas arising 
in any of them. Finally, there would most likely grow up 
in each township one school of higher grade than the rest. 
Older children could be taught here, leaving the time and 



MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS AND ROADS 51 

energy of the other teachers to be devoted to the younger 
classes. This advanced school would finally become a real 
high school, with perhaps a principal and several assistant 
teachers. There would now be at least one person of higher 
culture and training in each town, whose presence would be 
an inspiration to higher effort all along the line. Then, too, 
a library of good books would gradually be collected at the 
high school, which in itself would be an important means of 
mental development. 

Progress of the Township Idea. These were some of 
the results which educational enthusiasts hoped might follow 
such a change of system. Their ideas made way very slowly, 
for the habits of the people were against them. Little by 
little the change was made in a few states, and the movement 
now is well under way. Wherever the township system has 
gone into effect, it is doing what was expected of it. The 
idea is now in the air, and we may look to see it make great 
progress in the course of the next few years. 

Those states which have no townships to serve as the basis 
of the system are making provision for joint or union dis- 
tricts.-^ The whole point is to enlarge the unit for school 
management. 

The Importance of Good Roads. Lord Bacon makes 
" easy transportation from place to place " one of the three 

1 In several states there has recently been a strong movement 
for the consolidation of the small districts into larger ones. To 
make this feasible in country places it has been proposed to have 
the district furnish vehicles and teams for transporting all the chil- 
dren to the central school. This plan has been tried in some places 
with excellent results. It has been found that the expense of 
schoolinar the children under the new system is much less than 
under the old, because fewer teachers are needed and there is a 
great saving in buildings, apparatus, heating, etc. In addition, 
the schools are very much better under the new system, because 
{a) better teachers are usually employed, {b^ there is a better 
chance for effective supervision, and (<;) there is the stimulus of 
numbers and of the rivalry of several departments working side 
by side. 



52 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

things " that make a nation great and prosperous." Of all 
means of communication the most common by all odds are 
the country roads. These, too, are the special care of the 
local governments we have been studying. If the country 
roads are good, that is, if they are dry, hard, smooth, and 
level, communication is easy, transportation is cheap, and a 
great benefit accrues to the community. If they are poor, 
that is, if they are wet, soft, uneven, and hilly, communication 
is difficult and transportation enormously expensive. 

It is said that on the scientifically built roads of France, 
Germany, and Great Britain, a single horse can draw a load 
of three or four tons as easily as a pair of horses can draw 
one ton on the dirt roads of America. We rarely stop to 
consider such comparisons. We have come to reahze the 
importance of good railway connections, and cheap freight 
rates between the local trading point and the seaport where 
our products are marketed ; but the cost of hauling from the 
farm to the railway is not taken into account. 

The first condition of improvement in this matter, as in 
every other, is a favorable public sentiment. When the peo- 
ple really want good roads they can have them. But they 
are not likely to want a thing whose benefits they do not 
understand. For this reason there are now organizations 
which make it their business to try to educate the people on 
the subject of roads. They hold Good Roads Conventions, 
send out pamphlet literature, and sustain newspapers and 
magazines devoted to the cause. The result has been numer- 
ous measures before recent legislatures and some helpful 
legislation. 

The Problem of Roads. The problem of roads involves 
three things. Or, rather, we may say that the problem as a 
whole divides itself into three problems. These are (a) the 
problem of location ; (b) the problem of constructio7i ; {c) the 
problem of repair. 

In location are involved all questions relating to the road- 
way. Grades, drainage, liability to floods and gullying, 
accessibility of construction materials ; these are some of the 



MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS AND ROADS 53 

things to be considered in determining where a proposed 
road is to be laid. 

The question of proper grades is exceedingly important. 
Every one knows what a single steep grade, or hard hill, in a 
stretch of road means. One ton with such a hill becomes a 
full load, when otherwise two tons could be easily drawn. So 
the single hill adds fifty or one hundred per cent, to the cost 
of transporting heavy products to market. Steep grades 
should therefore be avoided, even if the distance is greater 
and right-of-way more expensive. So should low, undrainable 
spots be avoided, or stretches where the soil will not support 
a firm road-bed. If the road is properly located, it can be 
made a good road ; but if not, it can never become a good 
road. Most roads are spoiled in the locating. 

Skill required to Locate Roads. When a railway 
company wants a new road located, it sends out skilled engi- 
neers to find a good route. They consider all the available 
courses, accurately determine the grades, map the line they 
find best, and make their report. Then the company sends a 
man to purchase the right-of-way for the road from those 
whose land is crossed by the line surveyed. If an owner 
refuses to accept a fair offer from the company, the land may 
be taken through the right of eminent domain} 

In locating highways a very different programme is com- 
monly followed. The town board, or a committee appointed 
by the county board, comes into the neighborhood and tries 
to find out first of all where the property owners are willing 
to have a road laid. The men doing the work have not the 
training or the skill necessary to select the best roadway. 
They are bound by local political interests, and they hesitate 
to exercise the right of eminent domain. The consequence 
is that roads everywhere run over hills instead of passing by 
a level course around their bases ; they pass through swamps, 
sand stretches, or along rocky side-hills. This must all be 
remedied before we can have good roads. 

1 In such a case the price of the right-of-way is fixed by a jury 
of the neighborhood. 



54 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE t 

Construction of Roads. But suppose the road to have 
been properly located. It has yet to be constructed. Here 
is a second opportunity to spoil it, if the first has failed. In 
order to meet the requirement of dryness, the road-bed must 
be well drained. This is of fundamental importance. Usu- 
ally it is not attended to, and all work expended on the road- 
bed may be worse than lost. 

The next point is to provide a hard smooth surface. The 
approved way to do this is to cover the soil to the depth of 
several inches with some durable material like crushed rock, 
which is then rolled with a heavy roller until perfectly firm 
and smooth. Instead of doing this, the common practice is 
to scrape in loose dirt, which simply deepens the mud in wet 
seasons. 

Why do men continue to follow such ruinous methods in 
road-making ? Simply because of the lack of scientific know- 
ledge on a subject where such knowledge is essential, and 
because of a false idea of economy. Farmers and merchants 
are skilled in their own professions, and are the best judges 
of matters relating to their work ; but they are not necessa- 
rily competent to do work which belongs to the trained civil 
engineer. 

When roads are properly located and constructed, the 
problem of repair is a simple one. A very little attention each 
year is sufficient. Under conditions as they are in many 
states, the repairing of roads is the important thing. Every 
year the tax-payers of the country furnish enormous sums for 
the repair of dirt-roads, with no permanent benefit. 

Working out the Road Tax. One great evil is con- 
nected with the methods of applying the tax. Often the 
polls '^ and property owners are allowed to work it out. This 
is utterly pernicious in practice, for several reasons. In the 
first place, on account of their political or other control over 
the supervisor, many tax-payers escape the tax in whole or 

1 Polls are those persons who are subject to the poll-tax. Usu- 
ally all males over twenty-one, unless they are exempted for some 
reason, are required to pay a poll-tax. 



MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS AND ROADS 55 

in part. Secondly, the supervisor, being chosen by his neigh- 
bors and equals, has no control over such a body of men as 
come out in response to his summons to work on the road. 
Thirdly, no one so employed for only a few days in the year 
can do his most effective work. The result is, " road work- 
ing " is another name for a holiday. The time and money 
of conscientious citizens are squandered, and the roads are as 
bad as ever. 

The Remedy for Bad Roads. The remedy, as in the 
case of poor schools, is to be found in larger units for road 
management and greater centralization. In order to secure 
the blessing of good roads, the people must give up some of 
their cherished power to make bad ones. They must dele- 
gate to some one having the required scientific knowledge 
the power to locate new roads, and relocate old ones. They 
must also place their construction under such supervision. 
When this is done, repair is a minor point. It might be left 
to local care, but there ought to be skilled supervision even 
here. 

The experience of American states proves that the county 
is the best unit for road management. When we compare 
the results in Ohio with those in Wisconsin, no doubt remains 
on this head. Ohio county governments have long exercised 
the power of locating and controlling the construction of the 
important highways. The result is a network of fine, well- 
built turnpikes, on which it is pleasant to travel and econom- 
ical to transport products. In Wisconsin, where the county 
board lays out roads, but where their construction and repair 
are wholly under local control, primitive road conditions still 
prevail. 

In the important matter of roads, the states having the 
county system have a distinct advantage. A few modifica- 
tions of present laws will usually be all that is necessary to 
give them excellent road administration. For example, the 
appointment of a county engineer, as the agent of the com- 
missioners' court in locating and supervising the construction 
of new roads, and the collection of the road tax in money, 



56 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

would be a promising way to begin the reform. Some states 
have recently passed laws to this end.^ The results remain 
to be seen. 

A Hopeful Outlook. In the two matters of the improve- 
ment of schools and roads, the present is a time of great 
activity. The minds of the best citizens everywhere are set 
in the right direction. All that is necessary now is persist- 
ence and the exercise of wise policy in making the changes 
needed. 

SUMMARY 

In a government by the people, good common schools are 
absolutely necessary. We recognize this fact, and our states 
tax all the people having property for the support of the 
schools. Thus vast sums of money are expended upon the 
schools, and yet they are often very inefficient. Men have 
seen that this is due partly to a wrong system of school man- 
agement. An important reform is to change from the " dis- 
trict " system to the " township " system, or the " union 
school district " system, so as to enlarge the unit for school 
management. 

A similar reform is being urged in the matter of roads. 
In this case the county seems to be the best unit. In order 
to have good roads, they must be properly located and con- 
structed. This requires the services of skilled engineers, 
whom the county could employ for the purpose. 

^ Oregon passed a road law of this nature in 1901. 



OUTLINE 

FOR STUDYING THE PRESENT COUNTY SYSTEM 

{Intended for use in states having the county system^ 

1. County Commissioners (legislative officers). 

a. What is their number ; are they chosen on a general ticket, or 
by districts ; what is their term, and what salary do they receive ? 

b. Does the county judge act as one of the commissioners ? 

c. For what purposes may the commissioners tax the people of 
the county ? Make a written outline of the process of raising money, 
from the laying of the tax to its collection. Describe the part 
taken in the process by each officer or group of officers having any- 
thing to do with it. 

d. Describe the powers of the commissioners in the matters of 
locating and constructing roads, building bridges, managing fer- 
ries. Do they supervise the repair of roads ? 

e. What control, if any, do they have over the schools ? 

f. What kinds of property does the county own? Who con- 
trols it ? 

g. What power do the commissioners have to appoint men to 
do work for the county ? Define the duties of such appointees. 

h. In what ways may the commissioners control the elected offi- 
cers of the county ? (Do they audit accounts ?) 

2. County Judge and Justices of the Peace (judicial 
officers). 

a. What is the term of office of the county judge, and his salary? 
Need he be " learned in the law " ? 

b. What kinds of business come before his court ? (Is it all pro- 
bate business, or does he have jurisdiction in civil and criminal 
matters, and if so, to what extent ? ) 

c. Are the justices chosen on a general ticket, or by precincts ? 
What is their term, and how are they paid ? 

d. What powers do they have in criminal matters ; in civil cases ? 



58 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

3. The Executive or Administrative Officers. 

a. Make a list of them : find out the principal duties of each. 

b. For what terms are they chosen, and what salary do they get ? 

4. Divisions of the County (smaller local units). 

Name all the smaller divisions within the county ; describe the 
purpose of each, and state who has Jthe power to make or to change 
them. 

5. Relations with the State Government. 

«. Is there a state court which holds sessions in the county ? If 
so, what is it called, and how extensive is its jurisdiction ? 

b. What power created the county, and made the laws according 
to which the county officers are chosen and all county business car- 
ried on .? Would it be proper to call the county a mere subordinate 
division of the state, created for convenience in governing ? 

OUTLINE 

FOR STUDYING THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM 

{Intended for use in states having the township system.) 

1. The Town Meeting. 

a. When is it held, and who have the right to attend ? 

b. What power does the meeting have in matters of taxation ? 

c. What things can the township do for which money is needed ? 

d. How are the paupers of the town supported ? What powers 
does the township exercise over schools ? over roads and bridges ? 

e. What township property is there, and how is it used ? 

2. The Township Officers. 

a. Make a list of all township officers. 

b. What is the title of the head officer ; what are his duties, and 
how is he assisted ? 

c. Make a written outline of the process of raising money for 
township uses, beginning with the levying of the tax and ending 
with the collection of the money by the treasurer. Describe the 
part taken in the process by the assessor, the board of equaliza- 
tion, the town clerk, and the treasurer. Suppose a property owner 
refuses or neglects to pay his share of the tax, by what means is it 
collected? What other officers have a part in the process in such 
a case ? 



SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS 59 

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS 

1. Procure the names of the present county officers in your 
county. What fees, if any, are paid for particular services ? Are 
the fees kept by the officer, or turned over to the county ? Try to 
find out, by a personal visit if possible, what sort of office they work 
in, what books they keep, whether these are kept in a vault or not, 
how far back the records run, and whether they have ever been 
destroyed by fire. What county offices are most sought after by 
citizens ? 

2. Select the things for which taxes are levied by the Wisconsin 
town meeting and also by the Oregon commissioners' court. 

3. In Wisconsin the county maintains a poor-house and a poor- 
farm, but the towns which send paupers there are obliged to pay 
for their individual support. Is this a good system ? Why should 
one town be obliged to pay for the support of five paupers, while 
the rest of the county may have but four to provide for ? 

4. Select from the ticket on page 39 the executive and judicial 
officers of the town. Are there any legislative officers chosen ? 
Why not? 

5. Show how the county system is more economical than the town- 
ship system. 

6. What is meant by " reservation for the ministry," page 44 ? 
Look up the meaning of " glebe." Is the church in your state 
supported by funds derived from public lands ? How is it sup- 
ported? 

7. Distinguish between congressional township, civil township, 
and school township. May the three names apply to the same area 
at the same time ? 

8. Castle Rock township is described as " township number 
seven, range one west." What is the meaning of this ? 

9. The sixteenth section is the one reserved for schools in each 
township when but one is reserved. Sixteen and thirty-six are the 
numbers reserved when two are set aside. Find the value of the 
school section in Castle Rock at |io per acre. "Do the school sec- 
tions in your state sell for more or less than this sum ? Is that an 
average price for land ? 

10. What are the benefits of a uniform system of land surveys? 
How was land surveyed before our present system was adopted, 
and what were its effects ? See Roosevelt's " Winning of the 
West," iii. 7-10 ; also Gillan's " Lessons in Mathematical Geogra- 
phy." 



6o GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

11. Learn to describe fully some piece of land with which you 
are familiar, as, for example, " the northwest \ of the southeast \ 
of section 32, township No. 6, range one wesV^ 

12. What is meant by a Poll? (see page 54.) Who pay and 
who are exempt from poll-tax in your state? Is the poll-tax a just 
tax ? Would it be well to raise all taxes in this way ? 

13. Show how it is that when men escape the payment of any 
portion of the taxes properly falling upon them, they add to the 
burden of every honest tax-payer. 

14. What are the arguments in favor of working out the road 
tax ? Show how public and private interests apparently conflict in 
the matter of road work. 

15. Assume a fair price per day for the time of a man and a team. 
Now figure out the cost of transporting the products of some farm 
of your acquaintance to the nearest railway. Assuming that the 
best kind of road would allow the hauling of double the weight 
now drawn at a load, what sum of money would the farmer in ques- 
tion be justified in paying for road improvement ? 

16. What is meant by log-rolling in pohtics? Can it be avoided? 
What are its evils ? 

17. Describe all the different ways of voting. 

18. What evils are connected with the fee system, and how can 
they be lessened or abolished ? To what extent is it justifiable ? 

19. Who are voters at the annual school meeting in your town or 
district ? Who are voters at the town meeting for the election for 
county officers ? Why is the difference made, if there is one ? 

20. Obtain a copy of the school report of your district. Find 
from it how much money was raised by tax, how much was obtained 
from the school fund, and how much came from other sources. 

21. Is your school well or ill supported ? If ill, is it on account of 
the small size of the district, or for some other cause ? Are there 
more pupils in attendance now than formerly, or the contrary ? 



CHAPTER VII 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CITY LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES 

Townships and Counties precede Cities. When 
settlers came to Virginia and Massachusetts, they found 
a wilderness. The first thing to do was to make the 
soil, the forests, and the streams yield them a living. 
Woods were prepared for shipment, furs collected either 
by the white men or by the Indians for them, and fish 
and game captured for immediate use as food. The next 
thing was to prepare ground for crops. The extent of 
the country was almost limitless. The process of devel- 
opment would take a long time, and for that reason cities 
could not grow rapidly. The colonists were destined to 
be hunters, trappers, Indian traders, cattle grazers, and 
farmers for many generations. Not until population 
became comparatively large did it begin to mass greatly 
in special places. 

Towns needed to supply Foreign Goods. Towns 
were useful as centres for the supply of the foreign goods 
which the colonists needed. But even for this purpose 
they were not of equal necessity everywhere. In Vir- 
ginia, for example, the plantations were mostly on navi- 
gable rivers, and each planter had his private wharf. So, 
when traders visited the country, they did not discharge 
and take cargoes at seaport places, but passed up the 
rivers, stopping at the plantations. Here they exchanged 
their manufactured goods for tobacco and other products 
of the soil. This state of things made towns impossible. 



62 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The Virginia house of burgesses tried at first to en- 
courage them, but without effect. They could not be 
created by law. 

In New England there was an earlier development of 
towns. Some of the settlements were originally made 
as trading stations. Then, too, people settled in compact 
villages on account of their church relations, and these 
villages easily changed into towns. Advantages of trade, 
either with the interior or with the coast settlements at a 
distance, were pretty certain to bring about the change. 
So there were always, from the earliest times, places 
which were looked upon as centres of supply. But they 
remained very small for a long time. Not until well into 
the eighteenth century, when commerce began to grow 
rapidly, did towns become of considerable importance. 

Shipbuilding and the Fisheries promote Commerce 
and the Growth of Towns, Two things helped greatly 
to promote a commercial spirit in the northern colonies, 
and thereby to prepare the way for a more rapid growth 
of towns. The forests of New England furnished the 
best kind of ship timber, and the many rivers made it 
easy to get this to the coast. From the first, boats and 
ships were constructed for local uses. After a time 
shipbuilding ^ became an important industry, and vessels 
were built, not only to supply the home demand, but for 
foreign markets as well. New Englanders now engaged 
largely in the carrying trade, taking American products 
to the markets of the old world and bringing back, for 
North and South alike, the articles of necessity and of 
luxury required by the people. 

Much of the demand for ships came from men who 
were engaged in the fisheries along the east coast and in 
the northern waters. Fish, too, were an important article 
^ See Hart, Formation of the Union, p. 19. 



CITY LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES 63 

of export. Some kinds were sold chiefly in the West 
Indies, and a large trade grew up between the New Eng- 
land seaports and some of these islands.^ It has been 
estimated that at the middle of the eighteenth century 
American commerce was carried on with between two 
and three hundred ships. This was the cause of the 
first noteworthy growth of towns. But even this growth 
was exceedingly small in comparison with the results of 
a single decade now. In 1 790 there were but six towns 
or cities with a population of more than eight thousand. ^ 
No great change occurred during the next twenty years. 
But after 18 10 many causes worked together to give city 
life a development theretofore unknown. The chief of 
these causes were, {a) the growth of manufactures, and 
{b) the rapid increase of trade with the interior of the 
country. 

The Growth of Manufactures promotes the Growth 
of Cities. Until after the Revolutionary War the Amer- 
icans continued to depend on Europe for manufactured 
goods. Articles which could not be obtained readily from 
abroad, but which it was necessary for the people to have, 
were made at home. There was no factory system such 
as England had. For many years after the Revolution 
" agriculture, commerce, and the necessary mechanic arts 
continued to form the main occupation of the people." ^ 

But during the first fifteen years of the new century a 
number of things combined to bring about a rapid devel- 
opment of manufactures. England and France were 
at war, and were trying to injure each other by cutting 
off trade with the Americans. Congress passed the 

^ See Hart, Fortnation of the Union, p. 46. 

^ For an interesting account of city life about 1800, see Fiske's 
History of the U7iited States, pp. 262-264. 

^ Taussig, Tariff History of the United States, p. ro. 



64 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Embargo Act,^ which nearly destroyed our shipping. 
Goods which had to be imported became scarce and high, 
while the products of our farms rotted in the barns and 
granaries. Great distress fell upon the country, and peo- 
ple soon saw that it was a bad thing to depend upon 
a foreign market for necessaries. Then came the war of 
1 8 12, during which, of course, Americans could not trade 
freely with England. But these necessaries had to be 
supplied in some way, and the result was a remarkable 
growth of manufactures in the United States during these 
years. In 1803 there were only three cotton-mills in the 
whole country; in 18 12 there were fifty within thirty 
miles of Providence. In 1800 we used altogether five 
hundred bales of cotton, in 18 10 the amount was ten 
thousand bales, and in 181 5 ninety thousand bales. 

This shows that we were entering on a new stage of 
development as a nation. Up to that time, the Amer- 
icans had been mainly an agricultural and commercial 
people ; now they were coming to be a manufacturing 
people as well, and this meant that a larger and larger 
proportion of the population would live in cities, where 
manufacturing was carried on. 

Trade with the Interior promotes the Growth of 
Cities. The era beginning with the war of 18 12 is the 
era of "going west." We have already seen that a great 
movement westward took place at this time. Thousands 
of people from the northern states went to Ohio, Indiana, 
and Illinois, while in the south, Mississippi, Alabama, 
Louisiana, and Missouri were settled in an equally short 
space of time. In five years five new states were added 
to the Union. 

1 The Embargo «Act cut off all foreign commerce, by providing 
that no American ship should leave a port of the United States 
bound for any foreign port. 



CITY LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES 6$ 

This movement had been helped along greatly by the 
invention of the steamboat and also by the opening of 
the National Road from Cumberland, Maryland, to 
Wheeling on the Ohio River. But a much more power- 
ful impulse was given by the Erie Canal, completed in 
1825, which connected the Great Lakes with the Hudson 
River.^ The entire Northwest Territory was now brought 
into connection with the seaboard. Michigan and Wis- 
consin began to be settled. The trade which had been 
flowing down the Mississippi was turned eastward to the 
lakes and the canal. The result was, as had been antici- 
pated, an almost magical growth of the city of New York. 
It soon outstripped all rivals and became the metropolis 
of the country. In 1840 it had more than a quarter of a 
million people, more than half a million in 1850, and by 
1880 it had passed the million mark.^ 

The prosperity of New York caused other cities to try 
to secure a portion of the growing interior trade. This 
led to more canal building, and later to the construction 
of the great lines of railroad from the Atlantic coast to 
the Mississippi Valley.^ 

During all this time the population of the interior was 
growing at a surprising rate, partly by natural increase, 
partly on account of the thousands who each year went 
west from the seaboard states, and partly on account of 
the great influx of people from Europe.* The wealth of 

1 For an account of the Erie Canal, see McMaster, School His- 
tory, pp. 282-285. 

2 In 1900 it had three and a half millions. This increase was in 
large part due to the recent annexation of a number of suburbs 
together with the great city of Brooklyn. 

^ Finally some of these lines were extended to the Pacific 
Coast. 

* Many of these men remained in the eastern cities to work in 
the factories, others supplied the great demand for labor caused 



66 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the country increased even more rapidly than the popu- 
lation, so that the demand for goods, supplied by the 
commercial and manufacturing cities, was multiplied 
many times. 

The Unexampled Growth of American Cities. 
These facts help to explain the marvelous growth of 
American cities during the nineteenth century. Nothing 
like it had ever been known before. The larger seaport 
towns doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled their popu- 
lation and wealth in the course of a single decade, while 
hundreds of villages on the coast streams became pop- 
ulous and flourishing manufacturing towns. In the in- 
terior the story was the same. On the bogs at the south 
end of Lake Michigan rose Chicago, passing from the 
condition of a village to that of a city of more than a 
million people in the space of sixty years. In 1 790 there 
were six towns of more than eight thousand population ; ^ 
in 1900 there were five hundred and seventeen such 
towns. 

In 1790 only one city, Philadelphia, had over forty 
thousand people ; in 1 890 there were seventy-three cities 
in that class, three of which had each over a million, seven 
between two hundred and fifty and five hundred thousand, 
fourteen between one hundred and twenty-five and two 
hundred and fifty thousand, and fifteen between seventy- 
five and one hundred and twenty-five thousand. In 

by the opening of new lines of railway, while the remainder went 
west to take up land and make homes. 

1 In 1820 there were thirteen; twenty years later forty-four ; in 
1850 there were eighty-five, and in i860 one hundred and forty-one. 
By 1870 the number had grown to two hundred and twenty-six; 
by 1880 to two hundred and eighty-six ; the census of 1890 showed 
four hundred and forty-eight, and that of 1900 five hundred and 
seventeen. 



CITY LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES 6/ 

1800 there were three cities with a population of more 
than twenty-five thousand each ; in 1900 there were one 
hundred and fifty-nine. ^ Nineteen of these had over two 
hundred thousand, nineteen over one hundred thousand, 
forty over fifty and under one hundred thousand, and 
eighty-one over twenty-five and under fifty thousand. 
The percentage of the city population to the total popu- 
lation of the country at different periods is still more 
startling. In 1790 it was 3.35 ; in 1850, 12.49; i^ ^^70, 
20,93; and in 1890, 29.20. 

The Problem of Cities. This mighty transformation 
has brought with it the most serious governmental prob- 
lems that we have as yet had to meet. The government 
of rural townships, or of counties, is a simple matter. 
Our states are usually easy to govern. Even the national 
organization gives thoughtful people less concern than 
do the stupendous problems connected with the govern- 
ment of cities. In 1 800 there was^ no problem of cities ; 
in 1900 that problem overshadowed all others. It is neces- 
sary, then, for American citizens to make a special effort 
to discover the best methods of city government, and to 
insist on putting good methods in the place of bad ones. 

SUMMARY 
Towns grew slowly in the colonies, because there was little 
need for them except to supply the people with foreign goods. 
They grew faster in the North than in the South because, (a) 
New England people settled in compact villages while the 
southern people were mostly planters ; (d) shipbuilding and 
the fisheries promoted commerce in the North, and this led 
to the growth of towns. Yet the towns were few and small 
in 1800. 

1 The total population of these one hundred and fifty-nine cities 
in 1880 was 9,933,927. In 1890 it was 14,855,489. By 1900 the 
total had grown to 19,694,625. 



6S GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

After 1800 the growth was rapid and became unparalleled. 
The main causes were, (a) the development of manufacturing ; 
and (/^) the opening up of the vast interior of the country. 
This growth of towns has given American citizens new prob- 
lems of government to solve. 



CHAPTER VIII 

BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO 

The Government of the Town of Boston. During 
colonial times there were few places that could be called 
cities. New England had only one city. New York one, 
and Pennsylvania one, — the largest and most important 
of all. The last two had the city form of government, but 
the first did not. In Boston the people began with the 
township form. Year after year they chose their select- 
men and other officers in town meeting, and managed 
the affairs of the town by means of this popular assembly. 
As the place grew in population, the number of voters 
became so great that sometimes Faneuil Hall was too 
small to hold them, and the Old South Church was used 
for the meetings. At last this too was outgrown, but the 
people still clung to their cherished right of self-govern- 
ment. Finally, in 1822, almost two hundred years after 
the planting of the town, the old system was given up. 

By this time the population of Boston had reached 
forty-five thousand, and there were over seven thousand 
voters. The change had been simply forced upon the 
people by growth of numbers. There was no hall large 
enough to contain all the voters, and if there had been, 
a body of seven thousand men could not legislate. The 
town meetings were no longer popular assemblies. 
Those who had some special interest to look after were 
always on hand ; the rest stayed away. " The select- 



70 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

men, the town officers, and thirty or forty inhabitants " ^ 
made up the town meeting under ordinary circum- 
stances. A few men practically controlled the affairs of 
the town. 

It is interesting to see how intricate the town busi- 
ness had become. A small army of officers was re- 
quired to carry on the government. There were " nine 
selectmen, whose chairman generally had charge of the 
police ; twelve overseers of the poor ; thirty fire-wards ; 
twelve school committeemen ; twelve members of a 
board of health, — one chosen by each ward ; twenty 
surveyors of boards ; six fence-viewers ; six cullers of 
hoops and staves ; nine cullers of dry fish ; four field- 
drivers ; three inspectors of lime ; two surveyors of 
hemp ; two surveyors of wheat ; two assay masters ; a 
town treasurer, and a town clerk." ^ 

It is no wonder, considering this multitude of officers, 
and the variety of interests to be served, that *' the 
want of a responsible head to take the lead in the af- 
fairs of the town was extensively felt." ^ 

The Government of the City of Boston. The last 
act of the Boston town meeting was to accept the new 
charter creating the city of Boston. This it did March 
4, 1822, at Faneuil Hall. The vote stood 2797 in favor, 
and 1 88 1 against. This shows what a powerful hold 
the township system had gained over the minds of the 
citizens. *'Not a few of the old residents who had 
fought under the eyes of Washington in the field, and 
under the eyes of Samuel Adams in the town meetings, 
looked upon the act which divided their great folk-mote 

* James M. Bugbee, The City Govern?nent of Boston^ Johns 
Hopkins University Studies, Fifth Series, iii., p. 20. 
2 Ibid., p. 21. 8 Ibid.^ p. 21. 



BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO 71 

into twelve separate and silent gatherings, where men 
delegated their rights to others, as the beginning of the 
end of democratic government." ^ 

The charter divided the city into twelve wards. Each 
v^ras to be an election precinct, with a warden, clerk, and 
five inspectors, all chosen by the voters. At the annual 
election there was to be chosen " one able and discreet 
person, being an inhabitant of the city, to be mayor for 
the term of one year." He was the executive officer. 
There was also to be a board of aldermen, eight in 
number, to be chosen at large ; and a common council 
composed of forty-eight men, four from each ward. The 
wards also chose one school committeeman, one overseer 
of the poor, and three fire-wards each.^ 

The mayor and aldermen formed an upper house, and 
the forty-eight members of the common council a lower 
house, of the city legislature, called the city council. 
The mayor presided over the first branch, and a member 
of the common council, elected by that body, over the 
other. Every measure had to pass both houses in order 
to become a law. This city council had the general 
powers of the former town meeting. The right of legis- 
lation had simply been transferred from a/l the people 
to a chosen part oi the people. Many of the city officers 
also, such as the "auditor of accounts, the assessors of 
taxes, the engineers of the fire department, the superin- 
tendent of streets," ^ and others less important, were 
chosen by the city council. 

Such in outline was the new government which took 
the place of the Boston town meeting. The charter 
remained in force until 1854, when it was completely 

^ James M. Bugbee, Ibid.^ p. 23. 

2 Ibid.^ p. 24. 2 Ibid.^ p. 26. 



72 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

revised. With the changes made since then the power 
of the mayor has been greatly increased, while that of the 
council is restricted in various ways.^ At present the 
ofhce of mayor of Boston is one of great dignity and 
importance. His term is two years, his salary ^10,000 
per year. He has the power to appoint and remove all 
the principal officers and boards, and has a veto on all 
measures passed by the council. It requires a two thirds' 
vote to pass a measure over the mayor's veto. No con- 
tract, no conveyance of city property, no financial act 
of the school board, is valid without his approval. 

Thus it appears that in this distinctively American 
community, which began with the purest kind of demo- 
cracy, the tendency has been toward a sort of qualified 
monarchy, — a monarchy limited to a two years' term. 
It has not reached the extreme of one-man power, for 
the city council always limits the action of the mayor, 
but the tendency has been to increase his power at the 
expense of that of the legislative branch. This, we 
shall find, is a tendency which can be seen in the his- 
tory of other cities as well as Boston. 

Philadelphia: Early Government ; Charter of 1701. 
The city of Philadelphia illustrates a widely different 
origin of city government from that of Boston. When 
William Penn received his charter from Charles II. one 
of its provisions gave him the right to " divide the coun- 
try into towns, hundreds, and counties, and to erect and 
incorporate towns into boroughs and boroughs into cities, 
and to make and constitute fairs and markets therein." ^ 

1 For a convenient outline of city government in Boston under 
the charter of 1854, see Bryce, American Commonwealth^ i. 600- 
603. 

2 Allinson and Penrose, The City Government of Philadelphia., 
Johns Hopkins University Studies, Fifth Series, i., ii., p. 10. 



BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO 73 

Philadelphia was laid out in the peninsula between the 
Delaware and Schuylkill rivers soon after the planting 
of the colony. It was governed during the early 
period, probably, by the county court. But in 1701 
Penn granted the city a charter which to Americans of 
to-day seems a very peculiar instrument. In a historical 
way, however, it is of very great interest, because it con- 
nects American city government directly with the form 
of government which prevailed in the boroughs and 
cities of England^ at that time. In fact, Philadelphia 
was intended to be an English borough, planted in the 
forests of America. 

City government in England was usually in the hands 
of a small body of men who held the offices independ- 
ently of the people, and ruled, not for the benefit of the 
city and its entire population, but first of all for their 
own benefit. There was a mayor, a body of aldermen, 
and a council. The whole number was very small. The 
aldermen chose the mayor, and filled all vacancies that 
occurred, by death or otherwise, in their own number. 
The people really had nothing to do with the govern- 
ment. These boroughs had the right to choose mem- 
bers of Parliament, and this important privilege usually 
rested in the ruling oligarchy.^ 

When Philadelphia was chartered in 1701, the condi- 
tion of English borough government was even worse 
than it had been before. Penn, however, did not try to 
invent a new scheme of government, but simply tried 
to put in operation the ideas with which he was familiar. 

^ There was no difference between the government of the Eng- 
lish city and the government of the borough. Some places were 
called cities because they were the seats of archbishops and had 
cathedrals ; this distinguished them from the boroughs. 

2 The few men who formed the governing body. 



74 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

So he established a close corporation^ to govern his 
new city. It was called "the mayor and commonalty 
of the city of Philadelphia," ^ and consisted of a mayor, 
a recorder, eight aldermen, and twelve common coun- 
cilmen. The mayor was chosen each year by the alder- 
men and councilmen. The recorder, councilmen, and 
aldermen were appointed in the charter and held office 
for life. The corporation had the right to fill vacan- 
cies. 

Philadelphia under the Charter of 1789. This was 
the scheme under which the largest city in the colonies 
was governed until 1789. Then there was a change. 
Under the close corporation the government had been 
wholly distinct from the people. The new charter 
changed this. Fifteen aldermen were to be elected 
every seven years by the freeholders, and thirty common 
councilmen every three years by the freemen.^ The 
mayor was elected by the aldermen from their own num- 
ber. There was a recorder chosen by the mayor and 
aldermen. The entire body, consisting of mayor, re- 
corder, aldermen, and common councilmen, sat in com- 
mon council for the purpose of legislating for the city. 
So the old oligarchy was overthrown and the city gov- 
ernment, was at last representative. With a few amend- 
ments this charter remained in force till 1854. 

The government thus made up did, or tried to do, the 
numerous things that a city requires to have done. It 
had a survey department for the care of the highways ; 

1 A close corporation is one in which the members have the 
power to fill vacancies in their own number. This makes the body 
self-perpetuating. 

2 Allinson and Penrose, ibid.^ p. 15. 

3 Freemen of a city are fully qualified citizens ; freeholders are 
those who absolutely own, in " fee simple " as we say, some prop- 
erty like lots and buildings. 



BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO 75 

there was a department to look after city trusts, like 
the fund which Benjamin Franklin left to assist young 
mechanics to set up in housekeeping ; there was a de- 
partment of city property, a water department, a gas 
department, a fire department ; departments for the care 
of the poor, for education, for police, for finance, debt, 
and revenue. Aside from these regular departments 
there were several commissions, like that for the care of 
the public health. It will be seen, from this account, 
that city government in Philadelphia was a very com- 
plex thing, even when the city was much smaller than 
it is at present. 

In the police department very primitive methods were 
in use. The first watchman had been appointed in 
1700. " It was his duty to go through the city at night 
ringing a bell, to cry out the time of the night and the 
state of the weather." ^ Later the city was divided into 
wards, with a constable placed over each, and the citi- 
zens were required to perform watch duty. It was 
hard to get them to do it, and much laxness existed. 
Under the new charter there was a high constable who 
had general charge of police affairs, and control over 
the constables and the watch, who were now paid for 
their services. In 1833 the city was divided into four 
police districts. In each there was a captain and a lieu- 
tenant, twenty-four policemen, and a hundred and twenty 
watchmen. The police served by day, while the watch 
served at night. The force was still inefficient, and as 
late as 1844 ^ ^^b controlled the city. In 1838 a mob 
had burned Pennsylvania Hall while the mayor and the 
police stood by. 

Philadelphia under the Charter of 1854 and later 
Charters. In 1854 Philadelphia received a new charter. 
^ AUinson and Penrose, z5id., p. 26. . 



^6 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The old one had failed to give good results. The reason 
was, as men thought, that responsibility was not suffi- 
ciently centralized. The mayor had too little power. 
He had no veto, and nearly all executive work was done 
by committees of the council. In this manner responsi- 
bility was divided and effective government made impos- 
sible. There was a great deal of complaint, especially 
about the way in which police and financial affairs were 
managed. The new charter gave the mayor the veto 
power, and made him the personal head of the police 
department. The council appointed the heads of all 
other departments, and prescribed their salaries. 

As the charter of 1789 had failed because it divided 
responsibility, so that of 1854, although in some ways 
an improvement over the earlier one, at last failed for 
the same reason. With thirty-two different and sepa- 
rate departments, which had no real head, there was 
room for all kinds of frauds. The councils which had 
the right of appointment became corrupt ; the finances 
were mismanaged ; bribery was common ; in short, the 
" ring " ruled Philadelphia with a rod of iron. But in 
1880 a reform agitation began. The better citizens 
organized a league which fought the ring at every point, 
and finally, in 1887, secured the new charter under 
which the city is still governed. The main difference 
between this and the preceding charter lies in the in- 
crease of power now given to the mayor. 

The Government of Chicago : Charter of 1833. 
Having traced the history of two cities giving us the 
types of municipal government which prevailed in colo- 
nial times, let us now turn to one whose history lies 
wholly within the past century. The city of Chicago 
has sprung up so recently that many are still living who 
observed its beginnings. The first charter was a gen- 



BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO 7/ 

eral one, made for the government of villages or town- 
ships. Chicago was incorporated in the year 1833. 
There was a board of five men, chosen from among the 
freeholders of the village. They elected one of their 
number president. Thus organized, the government 
had the usual powers of village boards. It could pre- 
vent gambling, license shows, establish and regulate 
markets, construct and repair highways, etc. 

The president had no independent powers. He was 
simply a presiding officer. But it was natural that many 
things should be looked after by him without consult- 
ing the board. He might, in fact, have become a real 
administrative head, had this village government re- 
mained in force longer. The president of the village 
board was in germ the mayor of Chicago. We have 
seen that there are some governmental duties which 
are executive and others which are legislative. In the 
village of Chicago these groups of duties were not 
clearly distinguished. The real power resided in the 
board. It chose the president, had the power of ap- 
pointing to all executive offices, and had full power of 
legislation. 

The Charter of 1837. In 1837 Chicago was incorpo- 
rated under a new charter. The village organization 
was given up, and a city government was established. 
The members of the board of trustees had helped to 
secure the new charter, and they of course took pains to 
maintain their own power in it. Some changes, how- 
ever, were made in the direction of increasing the 
power of the mayor. The board of trustees became 
the council of aldermen, were chosen by wards, and 
had full legislative and appointing power. They also 
had the judicial power of justices of the peace in their 
respective wards. But the mayor was no longer de- 



78 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

pendent on the council for his office ; he was chosen 
by the voters. Otherwise his position remained about 
as it was under the village charter. He had no veto, 
and no power of appointment. "The charter of 1837 
was the government of the council." ^ 

The Charters of 1851 and 1876. A new charter was 
secured in 185 1. The position of the mayor now be- 
came vastly more dignified and important. He was 
made personally responsible for the proper execution 
of all laws and ordinances ; he was required to recom- 
mend measures to the council in an annual message ; 
and he had the power to veto the council's acts. He 
also had the power to appoint committees of the coun- 
cil, and in this way exercised a great influence over 
legislation. This charter was amended in 1857 by giv- 
ing the mayor power to appoint and remove certain 
important officers, thus for the first time giving him 
control over a portion of the executive departments. 

The charter under which the city of Chicago is now 
governed was adopted in 1875. The mayor is the ex- 
ecutive head in the true sense of the word, while the 
council is the legislature. In general, all executive offi- 
cers not elected by the people are appointed by the 
mayor and are responsible to him. The mayor also has 
a veto over acts of the council. The judiciary is an in- 
dependent body. 

SUMMARY 

The study of these three examples, Boston, Philadelphia, 
and Chicago, brings out clearly the following principles 
of city government : {a) The legislature of a large city must 
be a representative body. Boston began with a democratic 

^ S. E. Sparling, Municipal History of Chicago^ Bulletin of the 
University of Wisconsin, No. 23, p. 39. 



BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO 79 

town meeting, but had to give it up when the population be- 
came considerable, because it was impossible for so large a 
body of citizens to legislate. Philadelphia began with a close 
corporation ; this had to be abandoned because the people 
refused to be governed by a body of men who did not repre- 
sent them and were not bound to them in interest, (b) There 
must be a single executive, who has independent powers. In 
early Boston there were nine selectmen, none of whom was 
definitely responsible for the running of the municipal ma- 
chine. In early Philadelphia the mayor was dependent on 
the council for his position, and had not sufficient independ- 
ent power. In Chicago village the president was chosen by 
the board and was not independent, (c) While the legislative 
and executive departments should be given clearly distinct 
powers, both must be held responsible to the people by means 
of frequent elections, {d) Lastly, we see from the examples 
above discussed, that the division of powers between the 
legislature and the executive is one of the most important 
questions connected with city government. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PROBLEM OF CITIES 

Review of City Organization. Before taking up the 
special problems to which cities give rise, let us briefly 
review the common features of their government. In 
the first place we find in all cities the division into 
three departments, legislative, executive, and judicial. 
The legislative department is called the city council. It 
has a single chamber in most small cities and two cham- 
bers in a number of large ones. The members of the 
city council are almost always chosen by wards, and 
hold ofiice for one, two, or three years. 

This council usually has power : 

(i) To pass ordinances (city laws), either unrestrained 
or subject to the mayor's veto, which, however, a two 
thirds' vote can overcome.^ 

(2) To appoint some of the administrative officers, 
and to confirm those appointed by the mayor.^ 

(3) To control taxation and expenditure by determin- 
ing the amount of money to be raised, and making all 
appropriations. 

^ Such local laws may have reference to a great variety of sub- 
jects not covered by the general laws made by the state legislature. 
For example, the city council may require all bicyclists to carry 
lanterns after dark, or may prevent the erection of wooden houses 
on the main business streets. It may require sidewalks to be built 
of asphalt, or fix a fine for fast driving on the streets. 

2 Sometimes one of the two chambers of the city legislature has 
the power to confirm the appointments made by the mayor. 



THE PROBLEM OF CITIES 8l 

(4) To decide on city improvements, such as the grad- 
ing and paving of streets, the construction of public 
buildings, the extension of sewer systems, the estab- 
lishment and improvement of parks, and the establish- 
ment of water and lighting plants. 

(5) To grant privileges to individuals or corporations, 
as, for example, to give a street railway company the 
right to occupy certain streets for definite periods of 
time. In such cases the city council determines how 
much shall be paid to the city for the privilege, which 
is called 2, franchise. 

(6) To appoint committees of its members to look 
after the several features of the city administration : a 
committee on streets, another on public buildings, a third 
on water supply, a fourth on sewerage, a fifth on trans- 
portation, etc. 

The executive department consists of the mayor and 
other administrative officers and boards. The mayor is 
the executive head. He is chosen bv the direct vote of 
the people for a term which varies from one to five 
years. He generally has power : 

(i) To veto all acts of the city council. This veto 
can usually be overcome by a two thirds* vote. 

(2) To propose subjects of legislation by sending a 
message to the council or by addressing it in person. 

(3) To appoint some of the heads of the administra- 
tive departments, such as the chief of police, the street 
commissioner, and the superintendent of charities, and 
to remove them for cause. 

(4) To call for reports from the heads of departments, 
or even to call them together for consultation, as is the 
case in Boston. 

In general, it may be said that the mayor has a good 
deal of influence over the legislature by virtue of his 



82 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

power to execute or leave unexecuted the acts of the 
council. 

The judicial department of the city consists of the 
city or police justices, and sometimes of superior judges 
as well. The police justices usually try minor offences, 
only important cases being tried before the superior 
judges, or in the state courts. The justices are sometimes 
appointed, but more often are elected by the people. 

Other officers generally elected are the treasurer, the 
recorder or controller, and the city assessors. There 
are also some elective boards, such as the board of edu- 
cation, which are largely independent of both the mayor 
and the council, but are directly responsible to the 
people. 

"Why Cities are hard to govern. It will be seen at 
once that the city organization, as described above, is 
not essentially different from that of a county or town- 
ship. In each of these three local governments we have 
the division into legislative, executive, and judicial de- 
partments ; and the general duties of the departments 
are very similar. The county board or commissioners' 
court passes laws upon all matters of general interest 
not covered by the state laws. In the township the 
whole body of voters makes up the legislature and 
passes local laws. The town board, as the executive 
department, looks to their execution, and has general 
oversight of township affairs, much as the mayor has in 
the city. The justices of the peace in townships and 
counties fill the same place as the police justices in 
cities. 

In spite of the similarities between city and town or 
county governments, the difficulties of the former are 
enormously greater than those of the latter. This is 
due to the massing of a great population within a small 



THE PROBLEM OF CITIES 83 

area. We think of a township as a district containing 
about thirty-six square miles, and inhabited by people 
who manage their own local affairs in a town meeting.^ 
But there are districts of thirty-six square miles which 
contain more people than some of our American states. 
For example, Paris, with nearly three millions of people, 
covers an area a little smaller than a surveyor's town- 
ship. 

The mere statement of this fact is enough to show 
that Paris cannot be governed by the methods employed 
in the Wisconsin township. We govern people, not ter- 
ritory. Some one has suggested that men, like corn, in 
order to do well, must be set at certain distances apart. 
This is not necessarily true, but it is true that when 
men live scattered over a wide area they require much 
less looking after than when they jostle one another 
roughly in the crowded streets and tenements of a great 
city. 

If we think of the conditions of life in a farming 
community, and compare them with those of a great 
city, this fact becomes plain. In the country men are 
peaceful, or if some are disposed to be violent they 
rarely have a chance to do mischief, because they sel- 
dom come in contact with men like themselves. Crimes 
are rare, and usually occur only when men gather in 
crowds, — a rare occurrence in the country. In the 
city there are always crowds, and there are also con- 
stantly recurring outbreaks of the violent and vicious 
traits of human nature. For this reason the work of 
protecting people from evil-doers becomes, in the city, 

^ In many cases, however, such districts have not enough inhab- 
itants to fill the offices required by the township organization, and 
therefore some other means of government must be adopted for 
them. 



84 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

a business of great magnitude. The police department 
sometimes contains thousands of men/organized on mil- 
itary principles, for the sole purpose of protection. 

A fire on a farm may destroy the home of a family, 
or at most the house and the farm buildings ; but a fire 
in a city, unless it is promptly extinguished, may destroy 
property to the amount of millions of dollars, and very 
many lives may be lost in addition. Therefore, protec- 
tion against fire, which is hardly thought of in the 
country except as a purely private matter, becomes in 
the city an important part of the business of govern- 
ment. A fire department must be maintained, with a 
body of trained men, horses, hose carts, engines, etc., 
to carry out this duty of the city government. 

Again, the matter of health gives little concern to the 
government of a rural township where people live so 
much scattered that there is little danger of the spread 
of disease from one family to another. But when a case 
of smallpox or scarlet fever occurs in a city, thousands 
and tens of thousands of people immediately take 
alarm ; for they know that if the infected persons are 
not rigidly quarantined the disease is likely to sweep 
over the entire city, causing great suffering and expense, 
and perhaps carrying off hundreds of victims. So there 
must be a department of public health, which looks 
after the removal of such things as are likely to breed 
disease ; inspects the water and milk supply, and also 
the staple foods sold in the city ; makes regulations 
about the disposal of the dead ; prescribes rules for the 
lighting of school-houses and for the vaccination of 
school-children, etc. 

In the country the supply of water is wholly a pri- 
vate question. Every man gets his supply as best he 
can, by means of wells, springs, or cisterns. In the 



THE PROBLEM OF CITIES 85 

* 

city, health, protection against fire, and the needs of the 
sewer system would make a city supply of water abso- 
lutely necessary even without considering the economy 
of such a supply for private uses. Therefore all cities 
of considerable size have a separate department to look 
after the water supply. 

We might mention, in addition to the above cases, 
transportation, lighting, street cleaning and sprinkling, 
and many other matters, which in the country give little 
or no concern to the local government, but which are 
of such vital importance in every city that they can- 
not be safely left to private arrangements. 

The Evils of City Government. The city govern- 
ment, therefore, becomes, in comparison with town and 
country governments, intensely active, extremely intri- 
cate, and at the same time enormously expensive. A 
great city spends its millions where a rural district 
spends its hundreds of dollars. The men who handle 
these vast sums of money are subject to very strong 
temptations, and especially so since it is easy to con- 
ceal frauds on account of the complexity of city affairs. 
The paving of streets offers a good example. Con- 
tracts involving many thousands of dollars are adver- 
tised by the council. The business is so profitable that 
many men compete for it. The dishonest bidders are 
sure to find the dishonest members of the city council, 
and by their aid often succeed in securing the con- 
tracts. Then, by doing the work poorly or by supply- 
ing cheaper materials than those agreed upon, the con- 
tractor makes an exorbitant profit, out of which the 
dishonest aldermen claim their reward. The work is 
of so technical a character that frauds are not easy to 
discover, especially if the committee in charge chooses 
to hide them. 



86 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

It must not be supposed that these frauds are confined 
to the department of streets. Such opportunities occur 
in every department of the city government.^ Police 
officers take bribes for neglecting to enforce the laws 
against gamblers or liquor dealers ; the committee on 
lighting allows frauds in the supplying of gas to private | 

consumers ; the committee on public buildings makes 
contracts which cost the city much more than the work 
is worth ; the school board is liable to temptation in the 
contracts for the supply of schoolbooks. It is so easy, 
where large sums are involved, to divert a few thousands 
to the pockets of those having the work in charge, that 
even men who are disposed to be honest in their private 
business are liable to become dishonest when they take 
a part in the management of city affairs. To such an 
extent have these evils in city government grown that 
men have come to look upon the cities as the very 
breeding places of political corruption of all kinds. 

The Remedy for the Evils of City Government. Is 
there any remedy for this state of things, or must all 
that has been gained in the course of many centuries of 
progress be lost on account of our failure to govern the 
great and growing city populations ? Men will not be- 
lieve that good government in cities is an impossibility ; 
therefore they have been trying to devise plans which 
should give better results than those in use heretofore. 
During the past twenty years many new ideas have 
been put in operation, and some of these offer at least 
a partial and temporary solution of the problem of 
city government. 

The proposed remedy, we may say in general, is to 

^ There is a case on record in which a contractor actually placed 
wooden barrels in the ground instead of stone sewer pipes, thus 
robbing the city of thousands of dollars. 



THE PROBLEM OF CITIES 8/ 

concentrate power and responsibility in the hands of 
the mayor. It is said with good reason that a large 
part of all the frauds, bargains, " boodling " schemes, 
and so on, are due to the fact that so much of the city 
business has been done by committees and boards. As 
long as this continues, responsibility cannot easily be 
fixed upon any one in particular. In fact, a committee 
is a device for shifting and avoiding responsibility ; but 
when a single individual is directed to do a piece of 
work, men know whom to blame if the work is not 
done, or is done badly. All great business concerns 
understand the value of definitely placing responsibil- 
ity ; they could not succeed without it. The govern- 
ment of a city resembles, in many respects, the manage- 
ment of a great business, and therefore there should 
be some one upon whom the responsibility for its proper 
management rests. 

The gradual development of this idea explains the 
growing importance of the mayor in the cities whose 
history we have been studying. From a position of 
complete dependence upon the council, the mayor has 
come into a position of real headship in the city govern- 
ment. This is shown best in the latest charters. In 
Greater New York the mayor is elected for the term of 
four years, and is given a salary of ^15,000 per year. 
He is the absolute head of the city administration, and 
has practically a controlling influence in legislation as 
well. If anything goes wrong in the government of the 
city an attack is at once made upon the mayor, for the 
people very properly feel that, having the power to bring 
the heads of all departments to account, the mayor is 
the one to blame if he allows wrong doing in any branch 
of the service. Other cities approach or equal the cen- 
tralization noticed in Greater New York. It is felt to be 



88 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

easier and safer, in the present condition of the public 
mind, for the people to try to elect an honest and effi- 
cient mayor, than to try to keep direct watch over the 
numerous departments of a city government. There- 
fore, it is urged, the mayor should be given very full 
powers and should be held rigidly responsible for the 
results. 

The Prospect for Improveinent in City Govern- 
, ment. It cannot be supposed, however, that any mere 
device, important though it be, will give good govern- 
ment in cities, unless the citizens themselves take a 
serious and active interest in local affairs. This is, 
after all, the only permanent remedy for the evils which 
now appall us. The people of the cities are extremely 
busy with their own interests. Most of the time and 
attention left over for politics they give to the affairs of 
the state or of the nation, to the neglect of the city in 
which they live, carry on business, raise their families, 
and pay taxes. It is little wonder, therefore, that cor- 
rupt officials find it easy to hide their misdeeds, or that 
they continue to rob and steal. Our citizens must 
learn that each one of them has a responsible part to 
play in local as well as in national affairs. They must 
come to feel that they ought not to expect better gov- 
ernment than they insist on having. So long as local 
politics is looked upon as something to be avoided by 
"respectable" men, just so long will the non-respectable 
classes remain in control. If we object to being gov- 
erned by men" of selfish, corrupt characters, we have it 
partly in our power, as individuals, to secure the rule 
of men of right ideals, who, while following their own 
ambitions, never lose sight of the interest and the wel- 
fare of the people whom they serve. Men must learn, 
in short, that while the right to take part in a " govern- 



THE PROBLEM OF CITIES 89 

ment by the people " is indeed 3. _prwzle£;-e, it carries with 
it, at the same time, heavy responsibilities. 

In order to arouse public interest and to instruct the 
people in the mysteries of city administration, there has 
recently been a great movement toward the formation of 
good government clubs, municipal leagues, etc. It is 
too early to make predictions, but it seems as though all 
this agitation ought to bring about a new era for the 
cities of America.^ At any rate, thousands of people are 
now thinking very seriously about the great problems 
which affect our cities, where an increasing proportion 
of the people are yearly finding, homes. It is to be 
hpped that the outcome will be the final solution of many 
of these problems, and the placing of city government 
upon a plane where it will no longer be a threat and a 
reproach to a civilized nation. 

SUMMARY 

The government of the city is not essentially different in 
form from that of the township or the county. There is in 
each of these local units the division into three departments ; 
there is also much similarity in the work of corresponding de- 
partments in the city, the township, and the county. But on 
account of the massing of population, cities are incom- 
parably more difficult to govern than rural townships or 
counties. Cities have to do many more things for their in- 
habitants, and these things are enormously expensive. City 
officers, therefore, have the handling of vast sums of money, 
and this is spent in so many and such hidden ways that it 
is not easy to keep watch of expenditures. There is in con- 
sequence a great temptation to dishonesty on the part of all 
who have to do with city administration. As a remedy it is 

^ The cities of Europe are admirably governed, for the most 
part, and corruption is rare in them. On conditions which explain 
the difference, see Bryce, i. 620-624. 



90 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

proposed to place much power in the hands of the mayor, 
who is also to be held strictly responsible for the manage- 
ment of city affairs ; but the active interest of the citizens 
themselves is the only permanent remedy, and this is now 
being aroused. 



OUTLINE 

FOR STUDYING THE GOVERNMENT OF A CITY 

1. The City Legislature. 

a. If it has two chambers, learn the official name of each ; also 
learn the name of the legislature as a whole. 

b. The members ; how are they chosen, for how long, what quali- 
fications must they have, and what salary do they receive ? 

c. On what subjects may it pass ordinances, and for what pur- 
poses may it levy taxes ? 

d. What power does it have to make contracts for city improve- 
ments, or to grant franchises to corporations.? 

e. What powers of appointment or confirmation of appointments 
does it possess ? Compare its powers in this respect with those of 
the mayor. 

f. What other means of control does the legislature have over 
the administrative departments, such as the department of streets 
or public buildings, and how does it exercise such control ? 

g. Describe any means of control that the legislature has over 
the mayor. 

2. The City Executive. 

a. What is the mayor's term of office ; what qualifications must 
he have, and what salary does he receive ? 

b. What are his general duties as head of the city govern- 
ment ? 

c. Describe all the ways in which the mayor may influence or 
control city legislation. 

d. Make a list of all the officers and boards appointed by the 
mayor alone ; all who are appointed by the mayor with the consent 
of the council ; and all who are independent of both mayor and 
council in their appointment. 

e. In connection with the above list, note the main duties of 
each head of a department, whether an individual or a board. 



92 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

3. Classify the judicial officers of the city according to the man- 
ner of their appointment, and indicate the classes of cases over 
which each class of judges has jurisdiction. 

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS 

1. Was there any connection between the colonial commerce 
with the West Indies and the development of the slave trade ? See 
Hart, Formation of the Union^ p. 39. 

2. Name the inventions, English and American, which had most 
influence on manufactures. What was the relation between the 
cotton gin and westward expansion ? 

3. What special influence has the large foreign immigration had 
upon the government of cities ? 

4. Compare the Boston town meeting of 1820 with the town 
meeting in Castle Rock town, described on pages 38-41, and point 
out any differences you may notice. 

5. By what authority are city charters granted ? May they be 
changed at any time by the same authority, or not ? Describe the 
usual method of securing a city charter in your state. 

6. Some cities have a council of a single chamber, while some 
have a two-chambered council. What advantages and disadvan- 
tages are connected with each of these systems ? 

7. Point out the benefits and the evils of the ward system of 
choosing aldermen. Would the general ticket plan be better, and 
if so why ? 

8. What reasons can you give for the fact that state legislatures 
are very rarely charged with corruption, while city councils are 
often charged with it ? 

9. Is a city charter an advantage or a disadvantage to a small 
town of say 2000 people .'* Write out all the arguments in favor of 
and against direct government for such towns. How would a town 
meeting work in these small towns ? 

10. What is the effect of divided responsibility in the manage- 
ment of a school, a store, or other business enterprise .f* Give illus- 
trations coming under your own observation. 



CHAPTER X 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLONY INTO THE STATE 

The Early Colonies. The colonies began in a very 
small way. Only one hundred passengers started with 
the Mayflower for America, and not all of these reached 
their destination. John Winthrop brought a larger num- 
ber with him, but still they seem a small nucleus for a 
great state. The same was true of the other colonies. 
Each started as a single small town, or at most a few 
small towns ; so that the word " colony " does not have 
quite the same meaning when used in connection with 
the first years of Massachusetts or Virginia that it has 
for later years. The English called these early settle- 
ments "plantations." The word "colony" in time lost 
its original meaning. When we read or use it in con- 
nection with the Revolution, it means to us a large 
collection of towns and counties bound together as a 
unit, and not differing in the least material way from 
the same collection of towns and counties that became 
a state by separation from Great Britain. This develop- 
ment in the meaning of the word " colony " illustrates 
clearly the development of the colony itself. 

Character of the New England Colonies. Shortly 
before the age of colonization in England, the Puritan 
movement began, aiming to purify the Church of Eng- 
land. Many of those who took part in this movement 
were not content merely to purify the Church of Eng- 
land of practices that all felt to be wrong, but wanted 



94 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

to do away with the ritual of the church and its form of 
government, with bishops, archbishops, and clergy. They 
thought that if men were equal before God, then no 
one ought to have more power than another in the 
church. They therefore separated themselves and formed 
churches where all had an equal voice in the government. 
These were the people who founded New England. 

Before they left England persecution had driven from 
the Puritan churches the time-serving and weaker 
spirits. When they concluded to emigrate, they went 
practically in *a body, and it was a removal, not of 
colonies, but of churches or congregations with the 
minister at the head. Each congregation settled by 
itself and made its own town, and it was natural that 
this should receive an old English name. When they 
found a place to suit them in the wilderness, some 
local government was necessary. What kind of govern- 
ment should they take up ? The kind they were using 
all the time in the church, to be sure ; and that was as 
pure a democracy as was ever known. It was the demo- 
cratic form of church government that gave demo- 
cratic form to political government in the New England 
towns. The same body of men who voted in the church 
meeting voted also in the town meeting, and the two 
methods of government were the same. We must not 
be deceived by the fact that the people who came with 
John Winthrop to Boston were not separatists in Eng- 
land. When they reached America, circumstances led 
them to take up the democratic form of church govern- 
ment, and with it went the democratic town meeting. 

Increase in the Number of Towns. ^ As the people 
in these town republics increased in number they 

1 See Fiske, History of the United States^ pp. 91, 93, 95, 100, 
102, 105. 



FROM COLONY TO STATE 95 

swarmed, as it were, and "almost every town became 
the prolific mother of towns." ^ Plymouth began with 
one town in 1620, and by 1670 it had twenty towns with 
eight thousand people. In Virginia, by 16 19, there 
were eleven boroughs with four thousand people ; and 
in Rhode Island and other places the building of sepa- 
rate towns went on. Soon the towns situated somewhat 
near together began to unite for greater protection. The 
union was at first a very loose one, hardly more than a 
league of towns. In New Haven, in 1641, several towns 
formed, with the town of New Haven, a sort of federal 
union sometimes called The Republic of New Haven. 
The latter was finally incorporated in Connecticut as 
was Plymouth in Massachusetts. Portsmouth, Provi- 
dence, and Newport became Rhode Island, and so the 
process of union went on. 

Development of Southern Colonies. The case of 
Virginia and the South was very different. The causes 
of settlement there were not the same as in New Eng- 
land. The soil was very different ; so was the climate. 
The abundance of deep navigable streams leading into 
the interior had a marked effect. These and other 
causes noted elsewhere led to a great spreading of pop- 
ulation, although Virginia people expected to build 
towns. The plantation style of settlement made each 
plantation a sort of town in itself. The spreading of 
population did not lead to the founding of separate and 
independent local units as in New England. The small 
population in any one locality and the lack of towns 
made a town meeting unnecessary. The idea of the 
colony as a whole was emphasized, and this emphasis 
increased with the growth of the colony into a state, 
and partly, at least, accounts for the strong state feel- 
^ Woodrow Wilson, The State, p. 440. 



96 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

ing in Virginia and the South in later years. In some 
such way as this the small isolated towns grew by 
degrees into the colonies of the revolutionary period. 

Government of Colonies.^ In the matter of govern- 
ment, the early colonies were to a large degree experi- 
ments. There was no form of colonial government that 
all agreed to be wisest and best. Each colony tried its 
own way according to the ideas of the colonists them- 
selves, or of the company or the proprietor who founded 
the colony. Some colonies combined parts of two 
methods of government, and as time went by nearly 
all the colonies came to have the kind in which the 
king, or some proprietor to whom the king granted the 
territory, had a large share of power. This illustrates 
again the fact that government cannot be made be- 
forehand, as the great philosopher, John Locke, found 
in connection with the Carolinas.^ Roughly speaking, 
three ways of carrying on the business and government 
of the colonies were tried. These ways were not always 
very distinct from one another, and when we begin to 
study them we may be a little confused at first on this 
account. 

The three methods were first, royal ; second, proprie- 
tary ; and third, charter government. 

Royal Colonies. Many of those that afterwards prac- 
tically became royal colonies were at first colonies of a 
different kind. Thus, New Hampshire, New York, New 
Jersey, the Carolinas, and Georgia, which at the time of 

^ See, on this topic, Hart, Forjnation of the Union^ pp. 13-16; 
and Thwaite, The Colonies, pp. 58-63. 

2 Locke's constitution, the " Grand Model," provided for an aris- 
tocracy with hereditary titles ; and the colony was to be divided up 
into estates of greater or less extent to suit the rank of the classes 
of nobles. 



FROM COLONY TO STATE 97 

the Revolution were royal colonies, were at first pro- 
prietary colonies. The thing that made one kind of 
government differ from another was in the main the 
extent to which the people of the colonies could govern 
themselves. Nowadays we take it for granted that we 
should elect our own governors. Not every colony, 
however, had that power. In the royal colonies the 
governor was appointed by the crown, and thus was 
the agent of the king to look after his interests. The 
king could easily use the governor in trying to control 
the people of the colony. Then the governor had a 
council to assist him, which was often appointed by the 
crown, and was generally in sympathy with the gov- 
ernor. The council was of great assistance to him, 
because in most colonies it had a part in the making of 
laws. It might have gone hard with the liberties of the 
colonies if there had been no check upon the power of 
the governor and his council. 

Power of the Governor limited by a Representative 
Assembly. 1 Even in the royal colonies there was a 
representative assembly elected by the people to make 
laws and to represent them in the government. These 
assemblies claimed and exercised power over taxation 
and all public expenditures, and therefore the governor 
was dependent upon them for the payment of his salary. 
Nor could he begin any undertaking of importance or 
carry on the government unless they would furnish him 
the necessary means by taxation. He was at their 
mercy, and if he took away any of their rights and liber- 
ties, even by the express orders of the king, they could 
compel him to redress their grievances by withhold- 
ing his very living expenses. Where did they get this 
idea of controlling taxation.? Was it anything new.'* 

^ See Fisher, The Colonial Era, pp. 208, 209 ; also pp. 233, 234. 



98 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

-J. 
By no means ; it had been handed down from generation 

to generation through many a century of toil and con- 
flict, and for it many a good man had lost his life. It 
is one of those precious legacies of liberty which we 
owe to the sturdy independence of our ancestors. It 
has more than once saved to the English people those 
powers of self-government and political activity that 
have made them in our time the dominant race in the 
world. 

Proprietary Colonies. The English kings, after the 
Cabots discovered the coast of North America, claimed 
that the territory belonged to the king and not to Eng- 
land. Therefore after the two great companies formed 
to colonize the new world had given up their charters, 
the crown began to give its favorites large and valuable 
tracts of land. With the grants went powers of govern- 
ment and control that made the proprietors largely in- 
dependent. Such were the grants of Maryland to Lord 
Baltimore by Charles I., Pennsylvania to William Penn 
by Charles IL, and the Carolinas to a considerable num- 
ber of favorites, also by Charles II. When New Neth- 
erland was taken from the Dutch in 1664, Charles II. 
gave it to his brother the Duke of York ; it remained 
a proprietary colony, called New York, till the duke was 
made king, when it became a royal colony. 

In a proprietary colony the governor was appointed 
by the proprietor and acted as his agent and naturally 
cared for his interests. He also had a council, which in 
most cases became the upper house of the colonial legis- 
lature, a body resembling our Senate. The most interest- 
ing of the proprietary colonies was Maryland, because it 
was fashioned after the model of the counties palatine 
in England. England, as well as the United States, had 
its frontier. Several counties had the duty of defending 



FROM COLONY TO STATE 99 

the border country in the north and west of England, 
and the coast in the south. The earls of Chester and 
the bishops of Durham among others were given almost 
royal power on this account. The name itself, *' palace 
counties," gives the idea of royalty. In the time of 
Charles I. the county palatine of Durham still remained, 
and the government of Maryland was fashioned after it. 
Lord Baltimore was a sort of feudal king, and was abso- 
lute lord of the land and water within his boundaries. 

When Charles II. granted Pennsylvania to William 
Penn as proprietor, he was not so lavish as his father in 
the powers bestowed. In both Maryland and Pennsyl- 
vania the proprietorship was to be hereditary, in the 
Calvert and Penn families respectively. In Pennsylva- 
nia the council did not take part in legislation, and the 
legislature had but one house. However, the people 
were represented in the government by choosing the 
legislature, and they gradually absorbed nearly all the 
power into their own hands. The proprietary govern- 
ment was not a success. In the Carolinas the elaborate, 
ready-made government was worse than useless, and in 
Maryland it was impossible to implant the wornout feu- 
dal system 1 in virgin soil. .In Pennsylvania there was 
an unending quarrel between the proprietors and the 
people. The people found it more to their advantage 
to deal with the crown and its governors, and only three 
proprietary colonies remained when the Revolution 
broke out, — Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. 

Charter Colonies. We have seen in the first chapter 
of this book that long before the first American colony 

1 A system of landholding in mediEeval times, by which the ten- 
ant received the use of land from the lord in return for helping the 
lord as a soldier in war. There grew up also a system of govern- 
ment and society suited to the land system. 

L.ofC. 



lOO GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

was settled, the king began to grant charters to various 
towns in England. The charter was merely a writing 
telling how many and what things the town could do 
in the way of governing itself. The towns practically 
bought the privileges named in the charter, and paid for 
them by voting the king money of which he was in need. 
The king got in the habit of putting down in writing 
(charters) the privileges and powers that he granted 
to companies or individuals as well as towns. When 
the two great companies, London and Plymouth, were 
formed to found settlements in America (1606) they re- 
ceived charters from the king. Lord Baltimore also 
received a charter ; so did Penn. So did Massachusetts 
Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. So, in substance, 
did the Carolinas, Georgia, and New Hampshire. There- 
fore, in one sense, nearly all the colonies started with 
charters. But when we speak of " charter or republican 
colonies," only those are meant which were republican 
in form of government ; that is, those which had prac- 
tically complete self-government. These are often given 
as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. But 
Massachusetts lost its republican form when it lost its 
power of electing its own governor, in 1684. It is there- 
fore called by some a " semi-royal " colony. Rhode 
Island and Connecticut kept their charters. So well 
adapted were the charters to the needs of the people 
that even after there ceased to be any king in America 
these colonies made use of their charters, Connecticut 
until 18 18, Rhode Island until 1842. 

Governraent of Colonies like and unlike that of Eng- 
land. It is important that we get clearly in our minds 
the fact that the colonists followed the model of the form 
of government they were accustomed to. When they 
settled separate towns and began self-government in the 



FROM COLONY TO STATE lOI 

democratic town meeting, they still counted themselves 
Englishmen. They still thought of James I. or Charles 
I. as their king, but they thought of the General Court, 
or the Assembly, or the House of Burgesses, as their 
Parliament. They were familiar with a king and with 
a Parliament made up of two bodies. It naturally fol- 
lowed that in the new world the same thing in substance 
grew up. The governor stood in the place of the king. 
His council formed one house of the colonial parliament 
and the Assembly the other. 

Supremacy of Parliament. The colonies did not 
recognize the supremacy of the English Parliament, 
except in matters of commerce. The king, as long as 
he was practically independent of Parliament, did not 
care to have them do so. He desired to control them 
as his own personal property. But after James H. was 
expelled from the English throne (1688), Parliament was 
supreme in England, and began to claim supremacy 
over the colonies too. So the feeling about the relation 
of the colonies changed in England. But it did not 
change in America. We find Thomas Jefferson, just 
before the Revolution, vigorously denying, in his " Sum- 
mary View of the Rights of the Colonies," that Parlia- 
ment had any authority even in matters of commerce. 
The idea was strengthened by the fact that before 1707 
England and Scotland had the same king, but separate 
Parliaments. The colonies, therefore, looked upon Eng- 
land and Scotland, Massachusetts and Virginia and the 
rest, as fifteen divisions of an empire having the same 
king, but independent parliaments. 

Colonial Ideas about Taxation. It followed, of 
course, that the parliament of Massachusetts could not 
tax the people of England, nor could the Parliament of 
England tax the people of Massachusetts. This belief 



I02 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

emphasized in men's minds the separateness of the colo- 
nies, and greatly increased the difficulty of union. It 
grew stronger and stronger as the crisis of the war 
drew near, because it was the theory upon which was 
based their resistance to the acts of Parliament. Even 
after independence was acknowledged, the same idea of 
the necessary separateness of the states nearly wrecked 
the new government, and it bade fair to throw away the 
results of the war. 

Temporary 'War Governments.^ At the outbreak of 
the war, the royal governors either were driven out or 
fled of their own accord. There was no difficulty in the 
case of Rhode Island and Connecticut, which elected 
their own governors. They went on as before. But 
the royal colonies were left without any chief execu- 
tive head, and the machinery of government stood still. 
There was no change, however, in any of the colonies 
as to their attitude toward the mother country. They 
still counted themselves Englishmen. They still looked 
upon George III. as their king. They still looked upon 
the colonial legislatures as their parliaments. But they 
could not ignore the fact that new arrangements for a 
government were necessary in most of the colonies. 
The assembly of Massachusetts took matters into its 
own hands early. While Gage was still governor, it 
met and organized itself into a provincial congress, with 
John Hancock as president. In New York, the colonial 
committee of correspondence urged upon the county 
committees a provincial congress in much the same 
fashion, and gave to committees of safety the powers of 
government. But all these arrangements were merely 
temporary, and the people were very uneasy on account 
of the unsettled state of their governments. In this 
^ See Hart, For7nation of the Union, pp. 80-82. 



FROM COLONY TO STATE 103 

crisis they turned for advice to the second Continental 
Congress, which represented the greatest dignity and 
authority then in the colonies. Massachusetts was ad- 
vised to go back to its charter and proceed under it with- 
out a governor till the trouble was settled. There was 
no charter in New Hampshire, and the provincial con- 
gress was advised to call a " Free Representative " 
(convention of representatives) to establish such form of 
government as would best secure the peace and happi- 
ness of the people. This government, also, was to last 
only until the trouble was settled. Similar advice was 
given to South Carolina and Virginia. The New Hamp- 
shire convention was elected, and assumed the authority 
of the lower house of the legislature. It, in turn, elected 
a council which became the upper house, and was to be, 
thereafter, elected by the people. Part of the time the 
legislature exercised the power belonging before to the 
governor, and part of the time the committee of safety 
exercised it. Still, New Hampshire and most of the 
other colonies had no constitution. 

Permanent State Constitutions. The lack of written 
constitutions kept the people restless in the uncertain 
condition of affairs. Thomas Paine had written his 
pamphlet called ** Common Sense," ^ in which he set 
forth plainly the absurdity of the existing relation of 

1 Published in January, 1776, at Philadelphia. Its closing para- 
graph is famous : — 

" Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia and Africa 
have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger ; and 
England hath given her warning to depart. O, receive the fugi- 
tive ; and prepare in time an asylum for mankind." 

Paine also wrote, while a private soldier in Washington's camp, a 
pamphlet called *' The Crisis." Its opening passage is still more 
famous than the above : — 

" These are the times that try men's souls." 



104 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the colonies to England, and showed the necessity 
of independence. July 4, 1776, independence was pro- 
claimed. Meantime, in May, 1776, Congress advised 
the states to form permanent governments. With the 
exception of Rhode Island and Connecticut, they com- 
plied, and drew up constitutions. Virginia was one of 
the first to act, and adopted its state constitution in 
June, 1776; Massachusetts dropped its charter and 
adopted a constitution in 1780; and other states fol- 
lowed their example. 

The colonies of the early days had thus developed 
into states whose aggregate population in 1776 was two 
million five hundred thousand. These states, by 1783, 
were able to wrest their independence from Great 
Britain. 

Colonies and States.^ In granting territory to indi- 
viduals and companies, the crown also granted powers 
of government over each colony. If the king had not 
granted this land and these powers of government, no 
colony could legally have been planted in America. The 
colonies, therefore, were bound to the mother country 
as the source of all their political powers. They 
were dependent political organizations. When we see 
the word " colony " in print, we at once ask, " Whose 
colony ; the colony of what nation t " A colony is a 
body of people belonging to some nation, but distant 
from the mother country. There is physical separa- 
tion, but so long as a group of people remains a colony, 
it remains politically connected with the mother coun- 
try. 

When the political connection ceases, the group of 
persons becomes something else than a colony. So, 
when on July 4, 1776, Jefferson, Franklin, and the other 
1 See Bryce, i. 15-18. 



FROM COLONY TO STATE 105 

American patriots declared that **all political connec- 
tion between the colonies and the state of Great Brit- 
ain " had come to an end, they had to declare what the 
former colonies had now become. This they did in the 
words, " These united colonies are, and of right ought 
to be, free and independent states!' 

A state is naturally " free and independent." Just as 
the word "colony " 'means a dependent body of people, 
so the word " state " means a body of people politically 
independent. It is hard for Americans of to-day to 
grasp the meaning usually given to the word " state," 
because with us it has come to mean something else. 
In the Declaration of Independence, Great Britain is 
spoken of as a state — "the state of Great Britain." So 
she is to-day. So is France a state ; so are Holland, 
Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Italy, and Austria. All of these 
are states in the sense in which Jefferson understood the 
word in 1776, and in which all Europeans understand it 
to-day. ''The state of Great Britain," "the British Na- 
tion," *' the British Government," are all used as syn- 
onymous terms. They indicate a body of people which 
politically does not receive orders from any other body 
of people anywhere in the world. It is a sovereign ^ 
state. It can make such a form of government as it 
chooses ; it can make all laws needed to secure peace 
and quiet within ; or to develop the resources of the 
country. It may keep an army and a navy, and may use 
both against any other state. It may and does enjoy all 
rights which states have under the so-called "interna- 
tional law." 

Thus when Congress declared the colonies to be 

^ This word is used to indicate that the state has full power to 
do all things. But in America the so-called " sovereign states " 
cannot do all things. 



I06 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

" free and independent states " it would naturally mean 
that Virginia was to be considered from that time 
forth as the political equal of France or Sweden ; that 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were 
each as fully sovereign as was England herself, or Spain, 
or Holland. This is the theory of statehood. Had this 
theory been fully carried out, the state in which we live 
might to-day be carrying on a war with its neighbor in 
the north, or on the east, west, or south, as the states 
of Europe all stand ready to do at a moment's notice. 
But this is not the idea of the American *' state." The 
American '* state " lacks some of the powers belonging 
to states like France, Russia, or Great Britain. It has 
never fully exercised power over external affairs, mak- 
ing war and peace, entering into alHances and so on, 
— power which a sovereign state must have. 

The body that declared the colonies to be states, the 
Continental Congress, held the power of doing some of 
these things for all of them. In other words, with re- 
spect to the outside world, the thirteen states from the 
first acted as a single state. So that as an historical fact, 
there has never been a completely independent Virginia, 
or Massachusetts, or New York, On the other hand, 
the nation has become so great, so powerful and im- 
portant, that we think of it as having all power and as 
giving the states whatever powers they possess. But 
historically the states came first. They have always 
exercised the internal powers possessed by sovereign 
states, and they created the nation by giving to it a por- 
tion of the powers which they as free states possessed. 



FROM COLONY TO STATE 107 

SUMMARY 

The original American states developed from the condition 
of colonies. These colonies were begun in a very small way, 
with a few hundred people, making more or less compact set- 
tlements. Gradually the number of settlements increased, and 
thus the colony became a collection of towns and counties 
bound together under a single government ; the divisions, 
however (the towns and counties), had their own local gov- 
ernments, those of the towns being purely democratic. 

The colonial governments varied in form, some being royal 
colonies^ some proprietary colo7iies, and some charter colonies. 
The main difference was that in the first the governor was 
appointed by the crown, in the second by the proprietor, and 
in the third by the people themselves. Some colonies had 
mixed forms, and before the Revolution most of them had 
royal governors. But in all of them the power of the gov- 
ernor was limited by a representative assembly which had the 
right to levy taxes. 

When the Revolution came, the royal governors were forced 
to flee, and then the colonies set up temporary war govern- 
ments. Later, by the advice of the Continental Congress, they 
adopted regular state constitutions. The resulting states dif- 
fered from the colonies in that they were independent, while the 
colonies had been dependent political organizations. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE STATE GOVERNMENTS ^ 

The Constitution of Virginia, 1776. Let us now see 

what was the form of government actually adopted by 
the states. It was stated above that the Continental 
Congress, in May, 1776, advised the colonies to set up 
permanent governments ; and that Virginia, acting on 
this advice, adopted a state constitution in June of the 
same year, before the Declaration of Independence was 
made. This Virginia constitution is very important, 
because it served as a sort of pattern to the states which 
adopted constitutions later. 

It was made while civil war was raging in Virginia. 
The royal governor. Lord Dunmore, with as many loy- 
alists as he could get to assist him, was harrying the 
coasts and rivers of the state. Early in the summer he 
burned the city of Norfolk. Excitement ran high when 
the convention, consisting of members of the former 
House of Burgesses, met in Williamsburg, May 6. It 
contained men of the noblest stamp. Among them 
was James Madison, then only twenty-five years of age. 
The great leader and orator, Patrick Henry, was also a 
member of the body. 

Bill of Rights. On the 12th of June the convention 
adopted a " Bill of Rights," which came to be regarded 
as an essential part of the constitution of the state. It 

^ For an excellent account of the development of the state con- 
stitutions, see Bryce, i. 450-462. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 



109 



contains sixteen clauses dealing with the great principles 
of liberty which English people had won for themselves 
in the course of many centuries. Among other things 
it declares : — 

(a) *'That men are by nature equally free and inde- 
pendent, and have certain inherent rights, namely, the 
enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquir- 
ing and possessing property, and pursuing and attaining 
happiness and safety." 

{b) '' That all powers are vested in and consequently 
derived from the people ; that magistrates are their trus- 
tees and servants, and at all times amenable to them." 

{c) "That government is, or ought to be, instituted 
for the common benefit, protection, and security of the 
people, nation, or community." 

(a) That public offices ought not to be hereditary. 

{e) "That the legislative and executive powers of the 
state should be separate and distinct from the judiciary," 
and that the officers ought to be chosen at "frequent, 
certain, and regular elections." 

(/) " That all elections ought to be free, and that all 
men having sufficient evidence of common interest with 
and attachment to the community have the right of 
suffrage." 

(g) " That in all capital or criminal prosecutions a maji 
hath a right to de7nand the cause and nature of his ac- 
cusation^ to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, 
to call for evidence in his favor^ and to a speedy trial by 
a jury of twelve men of his vicinage} without whose 
unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty ; nor can he 
be compelled to give evidence against Jdmself ; that no 

1 Vicinage = neighborhood. For judicial purposes a county is a 
neighborhood. 



no GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

man be deprived of his liberty except by the law of the 
land or the judgment of his peers. ^^ ^ 

ill) " That general warrants . . . are grievous and 
oppressive, and ought not to be granted." ^ 

ij) " That the freedom of the press is one of the great 
bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by 
despotic governments." 

if) "That a well regulated militia, composed of the 
body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, 
natural, and safe defence of a free state." That in all 
cases " the military should be in strict subordination to, 
and governed by, the civil power." 

{k) "That religion, or the duty we owe to our creator, 
and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only 
by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and 
therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise 
of religion according to the dictates of conscience ; and 
that it is the duty of all to practise Christian forbear- 
ance, love, and charity towards each other." 

Adoption of the Constitution. On the 29th of June 
the same convention adopted the constitution, or form 
of government, of which the foregoing bill of rights 
may be regarded as the introduction. Counting it as 
one part of the complete constitution, the entire docu- 
ment may be summarized under the following heads : 
{a) the enacting clause ; {b) the bill of rights ; {c) the 
frame or form of government. 

The Enacting Clause and Form of Government. 

1 The italics are ours. 

2 That is, warrants for the arrest of any person except such as 
there is evidence against, which evidence is given under oath by- 
some one named in the warrant ; or for the search of a place except 
such as is particularly described and specified by some one making 
a sworn statement. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS III 

The enacting clause simply states what is done and who 
does it, as follows : *' We, the delegates and representa- 
tives of the good people of Virginia, do declare the 
future government of Virginia to be as followeth." 

The form of government was essentially like the state 
governments of to-day, with some differences which will 
be noted as we proceed. The first clause states that 
" the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments 
should be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise 
the powers properly belonging to the other." 

We have here the familiar division into three depart- 
ments with which we have become acquainted in the 
governments of the township, the county, and the city. 
We are next shown how each of these departments was 
to be organized. 

The Legislative Department. The legislative, as 
being in some respects the most important, is treated 
first. " The legislature shall be formed of two distinct 
branches, who together shall be a complete legislature. 
They shall meet once or oftener every year, and shall be 
called the General Assembly of Virginia. One of these 
shall be called the House of Delegates, . . . the other 
shall be called the Senate." 

The House of Delegates was to be made up of two 
men from each county, elected by the freeeholders, and 
one from each of two boroughs.^ The Senate was to con- 
sist of twenty-four persons, chosen from twenty-four dis- 
tricts into which the state was divided for that purpose. 

The Executive Department. Having disposed of the 
legislative, the constitution next takes up the executive 
department. On this point it provides that " a governor, 
or chief magistrate, shall be chosen annually by joint 
ballot of both houses." This is very different from our 
^ The two boroughs were Williamsburg and Norfolk. 



112 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

present system. We are accustomed to choosing our 
governors, as we choose the members of our legislative 
department, by direct vote of the people. But one 
hundred and twenty-five years ago people were not 
accustomed to voting for their chief magistrates. In 
most of the colonies the governors had been appointed 
by the crown ; but the people had been in the 
habit of choosing at least one house of the legislature. 
So the Virginians provided for an elective legislature of 
two branches, and allowed it, instead of the people, to 
choose the governor. 

Jealousy of the Executive. In other respects the 
treatment of the executive in this early constitution is 
very different from what we are used to. People at that 
time naturally distrusted governors. Those they had 
had were the agents of the king, and as we have seen 
tried to carry out the king's will in the colonies. In doing 
so they had come to be generally hated by the people. 
At the very time this constitution was being made, the 
royal governor, Dunmore, was carrying on a harass- 
ing war against the Virginians. Now, however, that 
they were providing for a governor of their own, instead 
of a king's governor, it might be supposed they would 
look upon him in a different way. And yet, as we all 
know, prejudice clings to names and offices even after 
their character has been wholly changed. So the Virgin- 
ians gave their governor just as little power as they 
safely could. We are accustomed to a governor who has 
the right to veto all laws passed by the legislature. But 
the Virginia governor had no veto power at all. Our 
governors to-day generally have the right to suggest 
legislation by a message sent to the two houses ; but the 
Virginia governor had no such right. 

Not only did the General Assembly appoint the gov- 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS II3 

ernor, but it also appointed a body of eight men to con- 
trol the governor. This body was called the council of 
state. It chose its own president, who performed the 
duties of governor in case of the death or disability of 
the elected governor, as our lieutenant-governor does. 
This council of state advised the governor in all ex- 
ecutive matters. He could not call special sessions of 
the General Assembly without their advice or the request 
of a majority of the members of the House of Dele- 
gates ; he could not grant a pardon without their con- 
sent ; he was commander-in-chief of the militia of the 
state, but he could not call them out without the advice 
of the council of state. Thus was the governor hedged 
in and limited in the exercise of his power. 

Growth in Power of the Executive. We shall find, 
by reading a number of the revolutionary constitutions, 
that this distrust of governors was very general, and the 
powers granted to them were usually of the most meagre 
character. As time passed the feeling against gover- 
nors disappeared, and in the later constitutions of the 
original states, as well as in those of the newer states, 
the governor becomes a much more important officer. 
Under the constitution of Virginia adopted in 1850, the 
governor is elected by the qualified voters for a term 
of four years ; and is given power to recommend legis- 
lation by message to the two houses ; call sessions of the 
General Assembly at his will ; call out the militia when 
in his opinion the public safety requires it ; appoint 
many civil officers temporarily ; grant pardons, reprieves, 
etc. ; demand reports of state officers ; and communicate 
with other states and foreign powers. The right of veto 
was not given him in the constitution of 1850, nor in 
that of 1864. But in 1870 a new constitution was 
adopted in which it was granted. 



ri4 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ' 

Thus we see that the powers of the Virginia governor, 
at first exceedingly limited, have come to be very great. 
This illustrates what has gone on throughout the coun- 
try. The movement has been something like that which 
has given the mayors of our cities so much power, but 
it has not been so marked. 

The Judicial Department. The Virginia constitution 
of 1776 placed the appointment of justices of the peace 
in the hands of the governor and council of state. 
These justices, in the sessions of the county court, tried 
all minor offences. There were higher courts in which 
more important cases were tried, and to which cases 
could be appealed from the county court. The two most 
important were called the General Court and the Su- 
preme Court of Appeals. Their judges were appointed 
by the General Assembly and held office during good 
behavior, which means, practically, for life. 

Sumraary of the Virginia Constitution of 1776. 
Such, in outline, was the constitution adopted by the 
Virginia convention in June, 1776. It may be helpful 
to review its general features before passing from it. 
It contained the bill of rights, sixteen clauses, as de- 
scribed above ; and the frame of government, providing 
for three departments, legislative, executive, and judicial. 

The legislative department, or General Assembly, 
contained two houses, the House of Delegates and the 
Senate. The House of Delegates was composed of two 
members from each county and one from each of two 
boroughs, chosen by the freeholders for the term of one 
year ; the Senate had twenty-four members, chosen from 
twenty-four districts every four years. 

The executive department was made up of the gov- 
ernor, chosen by the General Assembly ; and a council of 
state, also chosen by the General Assembly. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS II5 

The judicial department contained two elements : 
first, the justices in the counties, appointed by the gov- 
ernor and council ; second, higher courts, whose judges 
were appointed by the General Assembly. 

Separation into Three Departments. The idea of 
having three departments, each distinct from the others 
and independent of them, was strongly held by Ameri- 
cans at the time of the Revolution. It is one of the 
things that guarantee liberty. Legislative, executive, 
and judicial power in the hands of one man means tyr- 
anny if the man who holds this power chooses to play 
the tyrant. This was the condition in France before 
the French revolution (1789). Louis XIV. could say, 
" I am the state," because he, as king, not only made 
the laws, but also controlled the execution of them and 
their interpretation by the courts. 

When one body of men make the laws, and an en- 
tirely distinct and independent body act as judges in 
cases arising under them, it is easy to see that tyranny 
is less likely to creep into the government. Bodies of 
men are not so likely to become despotic as an indi- 
vidual man is. Therefore it is especially important to 
keep the law-making and judging powers from getting 
into the hands of the executive. Under the Virginia 
constitution the judges of the higher courts were ap- 
pointed by the General Assembly. This would seem to 
make them dependent on the legislative branch. But 
they were appointed for life, or during good behavior, 
and so were actually independent. The judges had no 
fear of the legislature if they decided cases contrary to 
its wishes. The governor, however, was chosen annu- 
ally and was under the control of the legislative depart- 
ment which chose him. This defect was remedied by 
giving the people the right to elect the governor. We 



Il6 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

have seen that the Virginia constitution is made up of 
a bill of rights and a frame of government. Both to- 
gether make a document which would cover not over 
eight pages in this book. It will be profitable for sev- 
eral reasons to compare it with the constitution of one 
of the new states. 

Constitution of North Dakota. The constitution of 
North Dakota covers fifty pages in a book as large as 
this, or more than six times as much space as does that 
of Virginia. Other new constitutions are fully as elabo- 
rate as that of North Dakota, while several of the early 
ones are even briefer than that of Virginia. 

In the North Dakota constitution about eighteen 
pages, a little over one third of the whole number, are 
taken up by the first four articles, on Declaration of 
Rights, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Depart- 
ments. These, we see at once, embrace the topics 
treated in the Virginia bill of rights and frame of gov- 
ernment ; but they fill a little mor^ than twice as much 
space as the entire Virginia constitution occupies. In 
addition to this there are thirty-two pages of matter, 
most of which is on topics not treated at all in the Vir- 
ginia and other early constitutions.^ 

Reasons for the Greater Length of New Constitu- 
tions.2 There are several reasons for the tendency of 

^ The fifth article is on the elective franchise, the sixth on muni- 
cipal corporations, the seventh on corporations other than munici- 
pal; then follow articles on education, school and public lands, 
county and township organization, revenue and taxation, public 
debt and public works, militia, impeachment and removal from 
office, future amendments, compact with the United States, and 
miscellaneous. There are, lastly, articles on congressional and 
legislative apportionment, public institutions, and prohibition. 
Twenty separate articles are numbered. The schedule, so-called, 
covering seven pages, concludes this voluminous constitution. 

2 See Bryce, i. 436. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS II/ 

state constitutions to become long and complex. In the 
first place, everything relating to the form of govern- 
ment is more carefully defined now than formerly, be- 
cause experience has shown the need of it. 

Secondly, some of the early constitutions were defec- 
tive in that they provided no regular way in which they 
could be amended. The later ones correct this by 
giving a detailed plan of procedure for securing amend- 
ments. 

Thirdly, the relations between the new states and the 
national government have made necessary certain ex- 
planatory articles. 

Fourthly, some matters, which during earlier times 
were left wholly to the legislatures, are now considered 
of so much importance that it seems well for the people, 
in making their constitutions, to regulate them as far as 
possible. This accounts for a large share of the space 
occupied by the newer constitutions. Such things as 
education, municipal and other corporations, public debt, 
school and public lands, might be left to the legislatures 
to deal with as they see fit. But the people now gener- 
ally prefer to set limits to the power of the legislatures 
in dealing with them. 

This illustrates the disposition of modern states to be 
jealous of the legislatures. When Virginia made her 
first constitution, there was great jealousy of the gov- 
ernor. Now the governors are given far more power 
than formerly, while the legislatures are hedged about. 

General Features of Present State Governments. In 
their general features the governments of our states are 
at present nearly uniform. There are always the three 
departments, — legislative, executive, and judicial, — and 
these are organized in very much the same way in all of 
the states. 



Il8 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The legislature is made up of two houses, an upper 
and a lower/ The upper house is always called the 
senate^ while the lower has various names, such as house 
of representatives, house of delegates, or assembly. The 
senate is the smaller body, and its members are often 
chosen for longer terms than are the members of the 
Jower house. 

In the making of laws the two houses of the legis- 
lature have a veto on each other ; that is to say, if a 
bill originates in one house and receives a majority 
vote there, it must receive a majority vote in the other 
house, also, before going to the governor for his signa- 
ture. If it fails to secure this majority, it is killed.^ 

The legislature has the power of levying taxes upon 
the people of the state, and of appropriating state funds 
for such objects as it chooses. But in these matters, as 
in the passage of ordinary laws, the governor's signa- 
ture is always required, and in some states his power 
over appropriations is very great. 

The executive department consists of the governor 
and a number of executive or administrative officers who 
are necessary to the proper management of the govern- 
mental machinery .3 These include a secretary of state, 
a treasurer, and an attorney-general ; usually there is 
also a superintendent of public instruction, and very 
often there are other officers, such as an auditor, one or 

1 See Bryce, i. 477-493. On the executive, see pp. 494-500 ; and 
on the judiciary, pp. 501-51 1. 

^ A bill fails to become a law, even after passing both houses by 
a majority vote, if the governor refuses to sign it and the two 
houses cannot pass it over his " veto." To pass a bill over the 
governor's veto usually requires a two thirds' vote of both houses. 

8 The lieutenant-governor is usually made president of the sen- 
ate. He is therefore rather a legislative than an executive officer. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS II9 

more railroad commissioners, a dairy and food commis- 
sioner, an insurance commissioner, a labor commissioner, 
a commissioner of statistics, as well as numerous 
boards. Their duties are, in part, indicated by their 
titles, but considerable variations exist, due to differences 
in the number of departments and the amount of busi- 
ness to be performed. 

These state officers are almost always elected by the 
people for the same term as the governor, and they 
are generally looked upon as the governor's helpers in 
carrying on the administration. Yet they are quite 
independent so far as the management of their depart- 
ments is concerned, and they do not necessarily belong 
to the governor's political party.^ 

The judicial department always contains a sitpreyite 
court, which, as the name implies, is at the head of the 
judicial system of the state. It has general oversight 
over the other courts, and receives cases from them on 
appeal. Below the supreme court is the district or cir- 
cuit court. The state is divided into a number of dis- 
tricts, each, as a rule, containing several counties. A 
judge is chosen for each district, and he holds sessions 
of court in each county of his district in turn, thus pass- 
ing round the " circuit." For this reason the courts 
held by these judges are often called " circuit courts " 
rather than "district courts," which is their name in 
some states. These courts have general jurisdiction in 
both civil and criminal matters, and they actually take 
care of the greater part of the judicial business. 

^ In states in which the two political parties are evenly matched 
in strength, it often happens that the governor belongs to one party, 
while some or all of the other state officers belong to the opposing 
party. Here is a difference between the state and national govern- 
ments : the heads of departments in the latter are always appointed 
by the president, and always belong to the same party. 



120 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Other courts within the state are those of county, 
city, and township, as already indicated. 

The Success of our State Governments. In general, 
we may say that our states, as compared especially with 
the great cities, are very well governed. There are cases 
of *' boss " rule and " ring " rule, some of which are so 
bad as to cause all good citizens the deepest concern, 
but these have been exceptional, and will become more 
rare as our people learn the lesson of responsibility 
better. 

There are many cases of extravagance in making ap- 
propriations, and there is much lack of wisdom in the 
way the people's money is distributed by state legisla- 
tures. But better business and economic training will 
gradually lessen these evils. 

Our state officials, especially those in the leading 
offices, have usually been men belonging to the best 
class of American citizens, and their patriotic labors 
have done much to maintain the high standard of effi- 
ciency and honesty found in most of the states. When 
we consider that our states are completely self-governing 
so far as internal affairs are concerned ; that the legisla- 
tures make laws on all possible subjects relating to the 
welfare of the people ; and that the state judiciary is a 
complete system, from the justice of the peace to the 
supreme court, almost wholly independent of the United 
States courts, we not only have great respect for the 
states as political organizations, but have reason to be 
proud of the success of their governments. 

SUMMARY 

The constitutions adopted by the states in 1776, and after- 
ward, provided generally for (a) a bill of rights, (d) a 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 121 

frame of government embracing a legislative, an executive, 
and a judicial department. The legislative department was 
very strong, while the executive was weak. An effort was 
made to keep the three departments independent of one 
another, but in practice the legislative controlled the execu- 
tive. In later constitutions the power of the executive has 
shown a tendency to grow at the expense of the legislature. 
The new constitutions embrace many more subjects, and 
are much larger documents than the early ones. There is 
great uniformity in the general organization of state govern- 
ments at present, and on the whole our states are well gov- 
erned, m 



OUTLINE 

FOR STUDYING THE STATE CONSTITUTION 

1. The Document Itself. 

a. Who made it, when, and under what circumstances ? 

b. Its length, division into articles, etc. 

c. Its main subdivisions as to subject matter. 

2. Its Essential Parts. 

a. The enacting clause. 

b. The Bill of Rights. 

c. The Frame of Government. 

d. The provision for amendments. 

3. Other Matters in the Constitution. 

a. Do these limit the legislative, the executive, or the judicial 
department ? 

b. Are they temporary, or of permanent importance ? 

c. Do they explain the relations between the state and the na- 
tional government .? 

d. Has it been an advantage or a disadvantage to have them in 
the constitution? 

4. The Enacting Clause or Preamble. 

a. Its form. 

b. Its contents. Does it contain more than a statement of what 
is done and who does it ? If so, why ? 

5. The Bill of Rights. 

a. Does it cover more points than the Virginia Bill of Rights ? 

b. Make a list of the additional points. 

c. Look for them in the Declaration of Independence and the 
Constitution of the United States. If not found there, try to find 
the explanation of their presence in special local conditions. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 123 

d. Is this Bill of Rights your only guaranty of the peaceable pos- 
session of the rights there guaranteed ? If not, where else are they 
guaranteed ? 

6. The Frame of Government. 

a. The Legislative Department, 
(i) What is its official name ? 

(2) What is each house called ? 

(3) How many members has each, what are their qualifications, 
how are they chosen, by whom, and for what term ? 

(4) What special privileges do the members of the legislature 
have? 

(5) How often do the sessions occur, and how long may they con- 
tinue ? 

(6) What is the prescribed method of passing laws ? 

(7) What appointing power has the legislature, or either house ? 

(8) What things can it do without the consent of the governor ? 

b. The Executive Departfnent. 

(i) Who may be governor; is he chosen by majority or plurality 
vote ; what is his term of office? 

(2) What power does he have over the legislature by veto or 
otherwise ? 

(3) What officers may he appoint independently of, and what ones 
with the consent of, one or both houses of the legislature ? 

(4) What control does he have over the other state officers ? 

(5) What power of a judicial nature does he have ? 

(6) What military powers has the governor ? 

(7) Are there any special limitations upon him ? 

(8) Wh-at provision is made against his death, disability, or 
absence during the term ? 

c. The Judicial Departfnent. 
(i) What is the lowest court ? 

(2) What is the highest court ? 

(3) What intermediate courts are there ? 

(4) What classes of cases are tried in each ? 

(5) Which court does the largest part of the business ? 

(6) How are the judges of each chosen, for what term, by whom, 
and what qualifications are required for the office ? 



124 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

(7) What special provision is made for probate business ? 

(8) Are the courts independent of both the other departments ? 

(9) Have the courts any control over either of the other depart- 
ments ? 

7. The Working of the Constitution. 

a. Do the parts of the Constitution seem to work harmoniously- 
together ? 

b. Is any part of your state constitution unwritten ? think of the 
way in which candidates are nominated for office. Is there any 
written regulation of party conventions for nominating state, county, 
and city officers ? 

c. What would be the advantages of a primary election law which 
would give the voters of each party the chance to nominate their 
candidates for all offices by ballot ? What disadvantages would 
such a plan have ? 

d. How does the state government work in the matter of educa- 
tion, taxation, and roads ? 

8. What state officers, aside from the governor, are chosen by the 
people ? What are the duties of each .? Do these officers limit the 
power of the governor ? 

9. What does the Constitution say about cities, counties, and 
townships ? 

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS 

1. What parts making up the state were created by the Fun- 
damental Orders of Connecticut? Is there any similarity in the 
way Connecticut was made and the way England was created by 
the union of small kingdoms .? What difference was there in the 
process of making the union in the two cases ? 

2. Are there, in your county or state, any bodies of people who 
came in as church congregations ? If so, is there any tendency for 
those congregations to become political units like the New England 
township? If not, can you explain why not? 

3. What does Magna Charta say about the way in which taxes 
should be levied? See pages 11, 12. Read the Petition of Right, 
Old South Leaflets, No. 23, and see what it says about taxation, espe- 
cially as to who has the power to impose taxes. Read also on the 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 12$ 

same subject, the English Bill of Rights, OM South Leaflets^ N^o. 
ig. 

4. Who were Sir John Eliot and John Hampden, and what con- 
nection did they have with the question of taxation in England ? 
See Green, Short History. 

5. Mention two or three of the present colonies of Great Britain. 
How are they governed and what control has the mother country 
over them ? See article on Canada, by Bourinot, Forum, March, 
1901. 

6. Why did the " Glorious Revolution " of 1688 give Englishmen 
anew idea of the relations between king and Parliament? See 
Green, Short History. 

7. Why does a condition of warfare require a more vigorous gov- 
ernment than a condition of peace ? Are wars sometimes helpful 
as a means of developing governments ? Look up the case of the 
new German Empire ; also consider the Civil War in America. 

8. Were the colonies "free and independent states" in 1774? 
If not, could they have delegated any powers to the Continental 
Congress ? If they did not delegate power to the Continental 
Congress, how did it have the power to declare the colonies to be 
" free and independent states " ? 

9. Mention as many " free and independent states " of South 
America as you can think of or find on a recent map. Does " free- 
dom and independence " make them strong and great ? Is it pos- 
sible that union, with loss of some of their independence, would be 
better for these people ? 

10. How did the belief originate that newly discovered territory 
belonged to the crown, not to the nation as a whole ? 

11. What led the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay to take up the 
democratic form of church government } 

12. In some states the governor has the right to veto any single 
item in a bill appropriating money. What is to be gained by such 
a provision, and what danger is there in it 1 

13. It has been said of the governments of some of our states 
that they are " almost as absolute as the government of Russia." 
In what sense is this true, and how may the evil be cured? 

14. Compare the officers of your state with those of the smaller 
governments within the state, such as the county, city, and township. 
Are the state officers better quahfied for their positions, as a rule, 
or are they not ? Try to explain any differences you may notice by 



126 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

considering the comparative importance and dignity of the offices ; 
the salary attached to them ; the conditions under which nomina- 
tions and elections are conducted, etc. 

15. Read the party platforms of the last state campaign. What 
were the questions at issue between the two principal parties ? How 
many of these were distinctly state issues, and how many had refer- 
ence to national politics ? 



CHAPTER XII 

CONDITIONS THAT MADE UNION BETWEEN THE COLONIES 

DIFFICULT 

Colonies Small and Separate. It is difficult for us 
to appreciate fully how small and separate were the first 
English colonies in America. We have become accus- 
tomed to thinking of townships, counties, and states as 
bound together in a nation. Our ancestors had no such 
ideas to begin with, and no desire to be united to their 
neighbors. In fact, they were constantly quarreling 
with neighboring towns or colonies ; each colony was 
determined to protect its own selfish interests. They 
were planting the seed of a new civilization, and it 
needed time to grow. Community of interest, desire for 
union, strong central government, do not grow in a 
day ; the process is a long and difficult one. 

Colonies like England in Development. Our fore- 
fathers were Englishmen. This process of growth, then, 
would naturally be English ; would very likely be sim- 
ilar to the process of development through which the 
parent state went after the seed of Saxon civilization 
was planted on British soil. We ought to expect in 
America the same local distrust, the same tenacious 
independence of local units. We ought to expect similar 
barriers to union, similar difficulties in getting colonies 
to put aside local prejudices and self-interest for the 
higher good of all. We should not be surprised that 
not the best of feeling existed between Rhode Island 



128 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

and Massachusetts, between New York and Connecticut. 
We should not be surprised to find ill feeling between 
Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, though they after- 
wards became parts of the same state ; and between 
Connecticut and New Haven, both now parts of Con- 
necticut. 

Difference in Religion. This ill feeling was made 
worse by the religious differences among the colonists. 
Because Roger WiUiams did not believe as the Massa- 
chusetts Bay people did, it was thought that he should 
be banished ; ^ Virginia thought it necessary to drive 
out Puritans from her borders ; and partly, at least, on 
account of religious differences, Thomas Hooker, in the 
summer of 1636, led his people out of Massachusetts 
Bay Colony to the beautiful valley of the Connecticut, 
at Hartford. 

Then there were the Catholics of Maryland, who dif- 
fered from all the rest and had suffered many things in 
England on that account. The founding of a common- 
wealth in America for their special benefit introduced 
a disturbing element. This was no fault of theirs, for 
their attitude toward religious freedom was, with Rhode 
Island's, the most advanced in the colonies. But in 
that day politics and religion could not be separated. 
The introduction of this new religious element led to 
strife which did not end until Protestants got control of 
the government of the colony. 

There was another strong element of religious differ- 

1 The banishment of Roger Williams, the persecution of the 
people of his colony, the refusal to allow them a part in the New 
England Confederation, and the general contempt bestowed upon 
the colony had their effect. Rhode Island remained a sort of alien 
among the colonies until after the Constitution of the United States 
was adopted. 



UNION OF THE COLONIES DIFFICULT 129 

ence. The southern colonies were in the main settled 
by men who belonged to the Church of England. The 
northern colonies were settled in the main by men who 
had separated from the Church of England. We can 
get now no adequate idea of the bitterness of the strug- 
gle over this separation. It was something like the 
bitterness of the time when Protestants seceded from 
the Roman Church. 

And finally the Quakers were very unlike the rest in 
their religious belief. They were even more extreme 
in their desire for simplicity in religious forms than 
were the Puritans. They refused to take oaths, while 
the rest of the people considered it a solemn duty to do 
so ; they showed no respect for dignitaries, and kept on 
their hats in the presence of magistrates ; they had no 
churches, preachers, or service in the ordinary sense of 
the term, and so incurred the enmity of the clergy, who 
were powerful and despotic ; ^ and they would not go to 
war, thus drawing upon themselves criticism in times 
of public danger. In spite of their simple life and hatred 
of sham, their benevolence and love of freedom, they 
introduced an element of difference that in early days 
had to be taken into account, and is not yet entirely for- 
gotten. 

Race Differences. The growth of union was retarded 
by race differences. The colonies were mainly settled 
by Englishmen, who gave them in great measure their 
laws and institutions. But there were many settlers of 
other nationalities. The Dutch in New Netherland had 
customs and ideas different from those of the English, 
and the fact that this colony was founded and supported 

1 The movement was intensely democratic in its bearing, and 
George Fox, the founder of the sect, is said to have been the first 
Englishman to declare publicly against slavery. 



130 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

rather as a fur-producing and trading colony than as a 
home-building colony, like Massachusetts, led to the 
people's having little part in the government. The 
introduction of the Patroon System — a system of great 
landlords and of tenants who could never own their 
land — brought in an element very different from the 
self-government of the other colonies, and New York 
was not free from the evil results of this until after 
1 840. 

In North and South Carolina, the Scotch Irish formed 
an important part of the population. Many thousands 
came there in the course of years from the north of 
Ireland, and also many Scotch Highlanders emigrated 
to the same parts of America. So that in North Caro- 
lina, before the Revolution, " they may be said to have 
given direction to her history." ^ 

Then there were French Huguenots, although their 
numbers were comparatively few. Pennsylvania had 
many Germans in the north and east, and many Scotch 
and Irish in the central and western parts. There were a 
few Swedes in Delaware, and Scotch, Irish, and Germans 
in other colonies. We have learned how to deal with 
and assimilate foreign populations, but in that day it was 
much harder to combine different race elements. 

Puritans and Cavaliers. There was another differ- 
ence between the settlers of the northern colonies and 
the southern which we must always bear in mind. It is 
closely connected with the religious differences men- 
tioned. The South, and particularly Virginia, was dom- 
inated by a class of men called in England Cavaliers, 
who took the side of Charles I. They were aristocrats, 
and, being accustomed to the estate and manner of life 

1 See Report of First Co7igress of Scotch Irish in America^ paper 
by William Wirt Henry. Quotation from Dr. J. R. Wilson. 



UNION OF THE COLONIES DIFFICULT 131 

of the English squire, kept up a similar kind of life in 
America. 

The northern colonies were settled by a very different 
class of people. They were called Puritans, or Round 
Heads, and had sided with Parliament against the king. 
They did not, in general, belong to the aristocracy, and 
they were prudent, thrifty people, willing and accus- 
tomed to work with their hands. They were inclined 
toward town life, and developed a genius for invention, 
commerce, and trading. 

No Interchange of Ideas. Union was also hindered 
by a lack of intercourse between the colonies. Men are 
apt to take a hostile attitude toward things and people 
about which they know little or nothing. There was a 
lack of roads and the other means of communication 
familiar to us ; the newspaper, one of the most power- 
ful agencies ever known for the interchange of ideas 
and the moulding of public opinion, was not in exist- 
ence ; and the postal system was as yet undeveloped. 
The first official notice of post offices in the colonies 
was in Massachusetts, in 1639. The system was of 
course primitive, but not so much so as that of Virginia 
in 1657. New York had a post line between New York« 
and Boston that ran as often as once a month, which 
was a matter of congratulation in those days. Thirty 
years later, it carried mail only once in two weeks. 
Franklin, when postmaster-general before the Revolu- 
tion, made an efficient system, but it fell into a bad state 
again when he was removed. In 1789 there were only 
seventy-five post offices where now there are a thousand 
times that number. 

The people of Rhode Island, or Providence Planta- 
tions, could know little of the people of New Haven or 
New York, and the conditions of life in the South were 



132 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

more unknown to the average citizen of Portsmouth or 
Dover than the circumstances of people in the interior 
of China are to us to-day. Such was the case, at least, 
in the early days of the colonies. 

Difference in Political Conditions. The political con- 
ditions under which people live, the extent to which 
they have self-government, have much to do with the 
possibility of their agreeing and combining together. 
So do their ideas about liberty and the rights which 
each individual ought to have. The colonies were not 
alike in regard to many of these things. One reason 
why Hooker insisted on taking his flock to the Connec- 
ticut Valley was that he believed that all the freemen 
ought to have a voice in the government. John Winthrop 
thought that the people in general ought to be satisfied 
to leave matters in the hands of the best educated and 
the so-called higher classes. John Winthrop was an 
aristocrat, Thomas Hooker was a democrat. This line 
of difference was to be found to some extent in every 
colony. Nor was that the last of it. It is fundamental. 
It made the Constitution of the United States wellnigh 
impossible, and is at the bottom of the difference that 
divides political parties to-day. 

SUMMARY 

The colonies to begin with were very small and separate. 
They were mainly English in their process of growth, and had 
many differences in religion, race, customs, and ideas. There 
was little communication between them, and few opportunities 
for the interchange of ideas. 



CHAPTER XIII 

GROWTH OF UNION 

Union of Slow Growth. It is probably clear, from 
what has been said, that these colonies would not join 
together unless compelled by necessity, and that each 
thought so much of itself that even if thus united for a 
time they would soon separate again. We can be sure, 
too, that when they once began to unite, it would be a 
very long time before they would be satisfied finally to 
join themselves together. 

The Indians, Dutch, and French. During early 
colonial times there was one ever present danger : the 
colonies were surrounded by hostile Indian tribes. The 
attitude of the whites toward the red men was often 
harsh and unjust. Young Indian boys were sold into 
slavery, and the tribes dispossessed of their lands. The 
effect upon a proud and courageous people was inevi- 
table, and they more than once threatened to wipe the 
colonies out of existence. The colonies were scattered 
and weak, and were obliged to combine for protection, 
whether they wanted to or not. 

Then, too, the Dutch had settled in New York, and 
had thus thrust themselves in like a wedge between the 
northern and southern colonies. They began to encroach 
on Connecticut, and pushed as far north as Albany, 
thus cutting into territory which Massachusetts claimed 
by her charter. Besides the Dutch, there were the 
French on the north, always hostile, and always a 
threatening cloud on the horizon of the colonies. 



134 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

A union might not have seemed necessary if England 
could have protected the colonies. But Englishmen 
were dividing into two hostile parties in the civil war 
between Charles I. and many of his people. These 
dangers brought it about that in 1643 the New England 
Confederation was formed " for mutual help and strength 
in all our future Concernments," as they said. 

New England Confederation.^ Only Massachusetts 
Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut joined 
together. Rhode Island was not allowed to join, neither 
were the towns on the Maine coast. People who differed 
from the others so widely in religion and other things 
as did the Rhode Islanders were not worthy of consid- 
eration. As for the Maine towns, one of them had actu- 
ally elected a tailor to the office of mayor, and it seemed 
to John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts, that 
people so democratic as that would be almost as danger- 
ous as Roger Williams and his Rhode Islanders. This 
early union, therefore, was a very small one, and did 
not bring even all of New England together. The con- 
federation was of the loosest description, but it had a 
constitution called the Articles of Confederation, and 
it taught the lesson of the benefits of union. It soon 
ceased to act, and became practically dead ; but when 
King Philip's War broke out, in 1675, the danger that 
threatened the very life of the colonies drove them 
together again, and revived the union for a short time. 

Other Schemes of Union. From the year 1684, when 
the last meeting of the Commissioners under the New 
England Confederation was held, to the Convention of 
1787, there were many schemes of union put forward. 
All of them were interesting, some were curious, and all 
ought to be read. The attempts at union were from two 
^ See Fiske, Beginnings of New England^ ch. iv. 



GROWTH OF UNION 135 

standpoints, from without the colonies and from within. 
While the colonists themselves were at different times 
putting forward schemes of union, the English govern- 
ment was trying to consolidate them by taking away the 
charters and making all royal colonies under one gov- 
ernor. This was in substance what the much hated 
Governor Andros was trying to do, and might have ac- 
complished if the Revolution of 1688 had not prevented. 

William Penn took an interest in this question of union 
and had a plan of his own, which he called " A Briefe 
and Plaine Scheame how the English Colonies in the 
North parts of America, Viz : Boston, Connecticut, Rhode 
Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
Virginia and Carolina may be made more useful to the 
Crowne and one anothers peace and safety by an univer- 
sal con-currence." ^ This was in 1697. There were other 
plans. That of Robert Livingston, of New York, in 
1 701, and that of Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, in 1722, 
although not the only ones, are good examples. These 
were, however, private expressions of opinion rather 
than anything else. 

Albany Plan of Union. As we have seen, the hos- 
tility of the French in the north had something to do 
with the formation of the New England Confederation. 
That hostility increased as the years went by, and led to 
several wars and Indian massacres. It came to a head 
about 1 754 in what is known as the Old French War, or 
the French and Indian War, in which Washington pro- 
minently figured for the first time. In the New World 
it was a struggle between France and England to see 
which should have the continent of North America. 
Naturally, it was a bitter struggle, and one of great con- 
cern to the English colonies. Here again the pressure 
^ American History Leaflets^ No. 14, p. 3. 



136 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

of necessity brought out plans of union which repre- 
sented real needs and inclinations. By 1754 Benjamin 
Franklin, one of the greatest Americans of any time, had 
become prominent in every good work. It is interesting 
to find, therefore, that he, most of all, is responsible for 
the Albany plan of union, adopted by a convention at 
Albany in July, 1754. Another plan was proposed at 
the same time by the Rev. Mr. Peters. Both the Peters 
plan and Franklin's " Short Hints " ^ should be read, as 
well as the Albany plan itself, which was the outcome of 
the two. One month later the English government drew 
up a plan for the general cooperation of the English 
colonies. It was too late, however, and never came to 
anything. 

The Albany plan, also, came to nothing, being, as has 
so often been said, too democratic for the English gov- 
ernment and too monarchical for the colonies. The 
Albany convention was, however, a very important step 
toward final union, because it brought together in some 
sort of agreement representatives from most of the col- 
onies as far south as Maryland. 

Change in England's Attitude. The English Parlia- 
ment did not make any decided attempts to assert and 
maintain its authority over the colonies until after the 
French and Indian War. But the cost of that war was so 
great, and the burden of taxation in England so heavy, 
that Parliament determined to assert its authority and tax 
the colonies. This was directly contrary to the ideas that 
the colonies had always held. They had not changed in 
this regard, even if England had. From the beginning, 
too, they had with good reason claimed all the rights 
that belonged to Englishmen. One of these was that 

1 For Franklin's plan, with comments by himself, see Old South 
Leaflets, No. 9. 



GROWTH OF UNION 137 

no one could tax them except the representatives they 
elected for that purpose. They had exercised this power 
over taxation against royal governors for many years. 
Now they saw it suddenly denied them. The English 
people did not understand this feeling at all. They 
thought the colonies were represented in Parliament ; 
but the English ideas about representation were very 
different from those that had grown up in America. 
The English system was representation by classes of 
people. The clergy were represented, the nobility were 
represented, so were the counties and boroughs. But 
the great majority of Englishmen had no vote for a mem- 
ber of the Parliament which taxed them, and they felt 
that the colonies were as much represented as they were. 

There were no classes in the colonies, and the method 
of representation by classes was impossible. The very 
manner of settlement in separate small communities had 
caused representation by population to become the ap- 
proved method. In this respect as well as in regard to 
the supremacy of Parliament, England and the colonies 
had grown steadily farther apart. 

The Stamp Act Congress.^ In 1765 Parliament as- 
serted its right to tax the colonies by passing the Stamp 
Act, which required a revenue stamp upon legal docu- 
ments, commercial instruments, newspapers, etc. This 
produced so great a sense of danger in the colonies 
that it forced them together again in the Stamp Act 
Congress. This was held in New York in October of 
1765. All of the colonies supported this congress, but 
four did not send delegates. The repeal of the Stamp 
Act by Parliament settled the difficulty for a time, and 

1 For an account of the various meetings which prepared the way 
for the Revolution and for union, see Fiske, American Revolution^ 
i. ch. i. 



138 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

although this congress did nothing but draw up petitions 
to the king and a declaration of rights, it is evident 
that the idea of union was gradually spreading, and that 
the number of colonies uniting was gradually increasing. 

Other Methods of Taxation. Parliament had no 
intention of giving up the struggle. The colonies had 
never acknowledged the supremacy of Parliament except 
as to the regulations, taxes, and duties necessary for car- 
rying on the commercial system of Great Britain, the 
revenues from which went to support the navy that pro- 
tected colonial as well as British commerce. 

Parliament now attempted to increase ta^es of this 
kind, and added other features, not taxes, that were very 
unwise. But the Americans at once shifted their ground 
and denied the right of Parliament to lay taxes or duties 
of any kind whatever. For it was plain to be seen that 
Parliament was using this as a method of raising general 
revenue. One thing led to another, and the struggle 
grew more and more bitter until the battles of Lexing- 
ton, Concord, and Bunker Hill. We are all familiar 
with the story of the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea 
Party, and the Four Intolerable Acts. But we are less 
familiar with other occurrences during this troubled 
period that had much to do with drawing the colonies 
nearer to a final union. 

New Steps toward Union : Circular Letter, and Non- 
importation Agreements. Even at this time (1770-75) 
communication between the colonies was slow and diffi- 
cult. There was little interchange of ideas between the 
colonies and little knowledge of one another. Now that 
the final and greatest peril confronted all the colonies 
alike, the question was, how to get around this great 
barrier to a common purpose and to common action. 
Samuel Adams is the one who in the main solved the 



GROWTH OF UNION 139 

problem. During the winter of \j6j-6Z the Massachu- 
setts Assembly voted a Circular Letter, drawn up by 
Samuel Adams, which told plainly the stand of Massa- 
chusetts in regard to Parliament's laying any taxes at 
all. This letter, which suggested that the colonies act 
together, was sent to the other colonial assemblies. 
Although forbidden to do so, they took up the cause 
of Massachusetts and made it their own. This Circular 
Letter was one step, at least, toward concerted action. 
Virginia did something like this in connection with her 
Virginia Resolves in 1/69. In the same year, after the 
Assembly of Virginia had been dissolved, the Burgesses 
signed an agreement not to use or import any goods 
upon which Parliament had laid a tax. George Wash- 
ington and Thomas Jefferson both had a part in this, 
although it was really a revolutionary proceeding. Vir- 
ginia persuaded the other colonies to adopt a similar 
plan, '* boycotting " English goods. These Non-Importa- 
tion Agreements were another step toward union. 

Comraittees of Correspondence.^ Soon after the Bos- 
ton Massacre Samuel Adams organized town Commit- 
tees of Correspondence throughout Massachusetts. By 
means of these he spread information as to what the 
acts of the British government really meant. They 
formed also the best means attainable for concerted ac- 
tion. This method soon spread over the colonies, and 
after the Boston Tea Party, under the lead of Virginia, 
all of the colonies formed permanent Colonial Commit- 
tees of Correspondence, — another and a long step to- 
ward union ; the machinery for concerted action was now 
at hand. 

First Continental Congress. The First Continental 

^ On the importance of Committees of Correspondence in making 
the Revolution possible, see Hart, Formation of the Union^ p. 57. 



I40 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Congress followed naturally in 1774, after Parliament 
had suspended the operation of the Massachusetts Char- 
ter and passed the Quebec Act. The time was nearing 
when the colonies would take the final step toward 
union, and would allow the central congress to make laws 
for all. The First Continental Congress, however, did 
not have that power, but it is significant that many of 
the delegates to it were chosen by the committees of 
correspondence, or by conventions, or by people of the 
towns and counties. It is easy to be seen that the people 
were assuming control. This congress did one thing 
that had a direct bearing on unity of action. It formed 
an American Association to see that no British goods 
were imported into or consumed in the colonies. They 
advised that each town or county appoint a committee 
for this purpose, to be supervised by the Colonial Com- 
mittees of Correspondence. The colonies were thus 
covered with a network of revolutionary organizations, 
reaching down into every county and township. There 
was, however, one thing yet lacking, and that was a 
permanent central congress. 

Second Continental Congress. The First Conti- 
nental Congress adjourned in October, 1774, but before 
adjourning it provided for a second congress, to meet in 
May, 1775, if the troubles with the mother country were 
not settled before that time. The battles of Lexington 
and Concord were fought in April, 1775, and when the 
Second Continental Congress met it found itself in a 
very different position from that of the congresses of 
1765 and 1774. The new congress, like the old, had no 
authority to make war, or pass laws, or carry on gov- 
ernment, but something had to be done, and that, too, at 
once. It therefore assumed authority to carry on the 
government of the colonies as a whole, and proceeded 



GROWTH OF UNION 14I 

to take measures necessary to prosecute the war. It per- 
formed other acts that only a central government could 
perform. ,We have, therefore, the one thing that was 
lacking to make a unified organization of the colonies, 
having some sort of permanence. For this Second 
Continental Congress lasted, practically speaking, until 
the Constitution of the United States went into effect. 
Nor did the colonies rebel against a central government 
which assumed powers that had never been granted it. 
By common consent they justified this action. Once 
more peril from without had forced the colonies into a 
union which was to give way only to one that should 
prove itself the strongest in history. 

Written Constitutions. The Second Continental 
Congress had hardly begun its sessions before Franklin 
drew up a systematic plan of a federal government, or, 
in other words, a written constitution. All of the colo- 
nies, too, in changing from colonies into states, seemed 
to think it necessary to have written constitutions. This 
drawing up of written constitutions by congress and by 
conventions or legislatures of eleven different states^ 
was one of the most important happenings in the history 
of government. A written document which says what 
powers and duties the legislature and officers of the state 
shall have was a great advance in the science of govern- 
ment. Mr. John Fiske says : " Almost everything else 
in our fundamental institutions was brought by our fore- 
fathers in a more or less highly developed condition from 
England ; but the development of the written constitu- 
tion, with the consequent relation of the courts to the 
lawmaking power, has gone on entirely upon American 
soil." 

1 Connecticut and Rhode Island used their charters as constitu- 
tions. 



142 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Origin of Written Constitutions. The origin of 
written constitutions must be sought in the distant past, 
and the development is too complicated for us to study 
now. But let us remember that a charter was a kind of 
contract ; so is a constitution. It has been said that the 
Great Charter {Magna Charta) is in a sense a constitu- 
tion, but colonial charters come much nearer being con- 
stitutions. This is easily seen when we remember that 
the charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut served as 
constitutions without substantial change for many years 
after the United States Constitution was adopted. 

The Pilgrims in the Mayflower foreshadowed a writ- 
ten constitution, and in Connecticut in 1639 the first 
poptdar written constitution ever known was adopted.^ 
The main mover in this was Thomas Hooker, whose 
democratic notions in part led to his removal from Mas- 
sachusetts Bay. This constitution was known as the 
*' Fundamental Orders of Connecticut," and it embodied 
the ideas of Hooker. " Under it the people of Connec- 
ticut lived for nearly two centuries before they deemed 
it necessary to amend it." The New England Confed- 
eration had a kind of constitution, the Albany Plan of 
Union contained one, and the moment the Second Con- 
tinental Congress assumed the authority of a law-making 
and law-executing body, a constitution for its regulation 
was thought necessary. 

Articles of Confederation. The constitution formed 
by the Second Continental Congress, called the Articles 
of Confederation, was adopted by Congress in 1777. The 
articles were not to be binding until ratified by all the 
states. So jealous were the latter of one another that in 

1 For an account of the written constitution of the Athenian oli- 
garchy at the close of the Peloponnesian War, see Botsford, History 
of Greece^ p. 231. 



GROWTH OF UNION 143 

spite of the great need, the new union did not go into 
effect until the war was almost over.^ Before the war 
began they hM thought of themselves as separate and 
independent colonies joined together through the king. 
In America there was no bond of union between them. 
Each had its own legislature and courts, and the powers 
that they believed the king to possess were small. 
After the war, everything was left as before except the 
king. Now, the people set Congress in place of the 
king, and gave it very nearly the same powers. Yet so 
hostile had they become to all central authority that they 
were hostile to this one of their own. They therefore 
failed to give Congress powers absolutely necessary to a 
working scheme of government. There was no system 
of courts and no executive except a committee of Con- 
gress ; there was no adequate means provided for raising 
revenue by the central government, and no government 
can be run without revenue. Congress could not enforce 
its authority upon the states or upon individuals, and 
therefore states and individuals paid little attention to 
it. The result was that when the pressure of war was 
removed the government fell into contempt, and the 
union seemed about to perish. 

It seems strange, at first that men of so much ability 
should have made so weak a government. But we must 
remember that they had no experience to guide them ; 
"never before had anyone even tried to formulate a 
scheme of government for such a federation."^ When 
we compare this attempt at union with those that pre- 
ceded it, it is clear that an enormous advance was 
made. The national idea had been born, and the 
adoption of the Articles of Confederation " was one of 

1 See Fiske, Tke Critical Period^ chs. iii. and iv. 

2 Channing, Students' History of the United States^ p. 240. 



144 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the half dozen most important events in the history of 
the United States." ^ How difficult it was to form even 
this union becomes clear when we understand that it 
took nearly four years to get the Articles adopted by all 
the states.^ 

Decline of the Confederation. It became evident 
very soon that the new government was not strong 
enough for the needs of the time. It was a period of 
singular unrest and fermentation. The war had broken 
up old ideas and led to the rise of new ones. There was 
almost universal discontent. Dissatisfaction led to fric- 
tion and change. The lot of the mechanic and laboring 
man had been a pitiable one before, and the war had 
made it worse. The farmers had good crops, but could 
get nothing for them. The men had been in the army, 
the women and children had been obliged to care for the 
farms, and fences were down, houses and buildings out 
of repair, and fields grown up with underbrush. The 
stock had been driven off or killed, and the family had 
run into debt in order to keep alive. There were no 
manufactures, and the English navy had cut off com- 
merce. There was no demand for labor, as there was 
nothing to do. The returned soldier, farmer or mechanic, 
had no money, because his pay, if he got any, was in 
poor currency. He found debts when he returned home, 
and nothing to pay them with. His creditors pressed 
him, and perhaps sent him to a debtor's prison. The 
prisons were full, and the wretched people in them 

^ Channing, p. 240. 

2 One cause of delay was the claims of states to lands west of 
the Alleghany Mountains. These lands were finally ceded to the 
central government to be held by all the states in common, and the 
Ordinance of 1787 was passed for the government of the territory 
north of the Ohio River. 



GROWTH OF UNION 14S 

underwent a torture that is indescribable. The poverty 
of the people jvas great. When the courts tried to col- 
lect debts, the debtors resisted, and the courts were 
intimidated by violence. In Massachusetts, a rebellion 
broke out, led by Job Shattuck and Daniel Shays, that 
was not put down until bloodshed ensued. Massachu- 
setts had to raise an army, and even Boston was put in 
a state of defence. 

Congress found it impossible to make the states keep 
the treaty of peace, especially in regard to the Tories 
and the payment of British debts. As soon as the war 
ended, the persecution of Tories began. The bitterest 
of feeling between them and the Whigs had grown out 
of the six years of strife. The Tories were hunted like 
wild beasts. Some fled to Florida and Bermuda, some 
to Canada and Nova Scotia. Many went to England. 
Riots were frequent, and Tories were tarred and feath- 
ered. " It was noted with no small pleasure that a 
vessel carrying seven hundred of the fever stricken 
Tories had gone to pieces off the New England coast, 
and scarce a soul been saved.^ In the South, where the 
feeling was the bitterest, many were shot or hanged. 
The whole tendency of affairs was dangerous in the ex- 
treme, and Congress began secretly to prepare for civil 
war. 

Then, too, the states quarrelled among themselves 
over the taxes and restrictions laid by each upon com- 
merce. Each state had the control of commerce in its 
own hands, and selfishly tried to further its own inter- 
ests by vexatious and unjust restrictions upon its neigh- 
bors. Congress attempted to get amendments adopted 
that would make the Articles of Confederation work- 
able. But when the Articles of Confederation were 

1 McMaster, History of the People of the United States^ i. 114. 



146 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

drawn up, amendments were made practically impossi- 
ble by requiring that every state should ratify before 
they became valid. In the existing condition of suspi- 
cion and discontent this was impossible. Congress fell 
lower and lower in the esteem of the people, and degen- 
erated into a debating club. Some states would not 
send delegates, and for a considerable time Delaware 
and Georgia were not represented. There were seldom 
twenty-five delegates present, and Congress was obliged 
to adjourn day after day for want of a quorum. It was 
insulted and badgered by drunken troops and reviled 
by the press. It wandered like an Ishmaelite from 
Philadelphia to Princeton, from Princeton to Annapolis, 
from Annapolis to Trenton, and from Trenton to New 
York. No wonder men like Washington, Madison, and 
Hamilton were in despair. Two courses were open : 
to drift on into anarchy and civil war, or to throw away 
the Articles of Confederation and make a new constitu- 
tion. 

SUMMARY 

The growth toward union in the colonies was very slow and 
difficult on account of the facts noted in the preceding chap- 
ter. But the need of common action for self-defence caused 
four of the New England colonies to form a loose confederacy 
in 1643. It lasted only till 1684. During the one hundred 
years following, various schemes of union were proposed. 
The most important steps toward union during this time were, 
(a) the Albany Congress and Plan of Union, 1754 ; {b) the 
Stamp Act Congress, 1765 ; (c) the First Continental Congress, 
1774, and (d) the Second Continental Congress, 1775-1788. 

When the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, 
a long step toward union was taken ; but the government 
under it was extremely weak, owing to the refusal of the 
states to give adequate powers to the national government. 
Things went from bad to worse, until men saw that the con- 
stitution must be changed or anarchy would result. 



CHAPTER XIV 

GENESIS OF THE CONSTITUTION ^ 

DiflS-Culty in Changing a Constitution. If we should 
become dissatisfied with our Constitution, and should 
want peaceably to overthrow it, it would be difficult to 
tell how to do it. If we called a convention for that 
purpose, we might get into serious trouble. We could 
not expect Congress to favor such action, nor the 
President, nor any one in office, because men do not 
like to give up holding office. This was about the posi- 
tion of the people who in iy86-8y wanted a new Consti- 
tution. Congress could not be expected to head such a 
movement, because it would throw its members out of 
office. But the men who wanted a change were sincere 
patriots, and they got at the matter, although it had to 
be done in a roundabout way. 

Trouble over Commerce. If we look on the map, we 
shall see that the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay 
afforded opportunity for large commerce with Maryland 
and Virginia. The tariffs or taxes levied by these 
states upon traffic were not uniform, and this led to 
endless strife. In order to settle the difficulty, a meet- 
ing was held by commissioners of Maryland and Vir- 
ginia in 1785, at Washington's residence. When they 
got to talking the matter over it became very evident 

1 On the general subject excellent supplementary material will be 
found in Bryce, American Commonwealth^ i. 19-31 ; and Fiske, 
Critical Period^ chs. v.-vii. 



148 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

how much better it would be to have the same commer- 
cial regulations for all states having to do with trade 
coming through the Chesapeake and adjacent waters. If 
we look on the map again, we shall see that many of the 
states were situated in regard to one another as Mary- 
land and Virginia were. The upshot of the meeting at 
Washington's residence was that a meeting of commis- 
sioners for all the states was called at Annapolis to con- 
sider trade and commerce for the whole country. 

Annapolis Convention. There were only a few dele- 
gates present at the opening of the conference, and 
they did not wait to transact business, nor until other 
delegates already on their way could get there. They 
called another convention at Philadelphia in 1787. This 
time it was not to consider trade and commerce, but to 
consider the Articles of Confederation and make them 
" adequate to the exigencies of the Union." This was 
the result of the work of Madison and Hamilton, who 
for a long time had been laboring for a convention to 
alter the government. It had been proved that amend- 
ment to the Articles in the ordinary way was impossi- 
ble, and Congress must have known that some radical 
change would result. Could Congress be persuaded to 
indorse a convention that might greatly alter its powers 
or take away its right to exist } It would have been 
doubtful if the convention had been called with the open 
purpose of throwing over the Articles ; but at this time 
there were only a few who had a settled purpose to 
make a new government. It would have been doubtful 
any way, if Madison had not been a member of Congress. 
With the aid of Hamilton, he persuaded Congress to 
recommend that the states send delegates to the Phila- 
delphia convention. 

The Federal Convention. The convention that met 



GENESIS OF THE CONSTITUTION 149 

at Philadelphia in May, 1787, was one of the most re- 
markable in history. The states realized the gravity of 
the situation, and chose almost without exception their 
strongest men. This meant much, for the United States 
at this time had among its citizens an unusually large 
number of men of great power. Their work there 
immortalized them, and the document which they drew 
up has proved to be beyond doubt the most remark- 
able of its kind ever known. Rhode Island refused 
to send delegates, and was not represented. All other 
states had delegates present at some time during the 
sitting of the convention. Washington did not at first 
expect to attend, but Shays's Rebellion and other occur- 
rences frightened him as to the condition of the country, 
and he was present and became the president of the con- 
vention. Benjamin Franklin, although an old man, was 
there also, for if by any chance Washington could not 
preside, there was only one other man in the colonies in 
whom all had absolute confidence, and that was Frank- 
lin. Washington and Franklin soothed many a conten- 
tion, and settled many a difference. Their support of 
the Constitution was of great weight in the eyes of many 
who otherwise might have opposed it. The convention 
held secret meetings, and met daily from May 28, 1787, 
until September 17 of the same year. Madison, careful 
and methodical, made copious notes of the proceedings, 
which were not published, however, until long afterward, 
and no one will ever know many things that were said 
and done during the convention. 

Different Plans of Government. When the mem- 
bers were ready for serious work, the first thing of vital 
importance to be settled was whether they should merely 
revise the Articles of Confederation or make an entirely 
new Constitution. The Virginia delegates and many 



ISO GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

others were in favor of a new Constitution and a strong 
central government. Madison had been the main mover 
in drawing up a plan for a new government, which was 
presented to the convention by one of the Virginia dele- 
gates, and called the Virginia Plan.^ This plan would 
have given the large states greater influence, and natu- 
rally the convention divided into two parties on the 
question. The representatives of the small states who 
objected to so strong a central government brought in a 
plan of their own, which was introduced by Paterson, 
of New Jersey, and was called the New Jersey Plan. It 
provided for the continuance of the existing government 
under the Articles, but gave Congress the power to lay 
and collect taxes, regulate commerce, and compel the 
states to obey its command. It was necessary, then, to 
decide which of these plans to adopt as a basis. 

After a heated struggle the Virginia Plan was adopted, 
and with some changes it determined in great measure 
the form of our Constitution. Before the Constitution 
could be made satisfactory to the convention several 
compromises had to be agreed upon. When these had 
been made, many of those who had voted for the New 
Jersey Plan strongly favored the new Constitution, for 
there had grown up a deep and widespread distrust of 
the Articles of Confederation. After the substance of 
the different articles in the Constitution was agreed upon, 

^ It was presented to the convention by Edmund Randolph, who 
was made the spokesman of the Virginia delegation, because he was 
at the time the governor of the state. The Virginia Plan is, on this 
account, sometimes spoken of as the Randolph Plan, but there is 
no evidence that Randolph was its author. On the other hand, 
there are many facts which go to show that Madison had thought 
out most of the points embraced in the Virginia Plan before the 
convention met. He is, therefore, properly regarded as its prin- 
cipal author. 



GENESIS OF THE CONSTITUTION 151 

the whole dociftrbent was handed over to Gouverneur 
Morris to put into shape, and the simple language and 
clear style are in the main due to him. 

The Constitution submitted to the States. It was 
one thing for the convention to make a Constitution, and 
another thing to get it adopted. The men who drew it 
up were few in number and had the advantage of a 
secret session undisturbed by outside influences. The 
states that had to ratify it were scattered from New 
Hampshire to Georgia, and every possible influence was 
brought to bear for and against the Constitution. Rhode 
Island had not been represented at all, and of course 
would not like the Constitution. Two of the three New 
York delegates had left in anger because the convention 
seemed likely to favor the large states, for New York 
was then a small state. Hamilton was known to be in 
favor of a government so centralized as to greatly dimin- 
ish local self-government. This frightened people as to 
the Constitution which he supported with such vigor and 
ability. Many of those who had favored the New Jersey 
Plan supported the Constitution with reluctance, and in 
fact no one was really satisfied. Several delegates re- 
fused to sign at all. One of the Maryland delegates had 
left in disgust. In spite of the efforts of Franklin, who 
made an eloquent and persuasive speech, Gerry of Mas- 
sachusetts, and Mason and Randolph of Virginia, al- 
though present, finally refused to sign. These men, 
we must remember, were from the two most important 
states. What chances of adoption had a Constitution 
under these circumstances ? It certainly did look dark, 
and the friends of the new government felt it ; but 
Washington and Franklin, Madison and Hamilton, were 
towers of strength. Probably the strongest argument 
in favor of the new Constitution was that the choice lay 



152 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ' 

betwen the Constitution and disunion, and anything was 
better than disunion. 

Unauthorized Acts of the Convention. Congress 
had indorsed the call for a convention at Philadelphia, 
but had only given the convention authority to propose 
amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Accord- I 

ing to the Articles themselves, the consent of every state 
was necessary for the adoption of amendments, and 
Congress expected that this consent would be obtained. 
But occurrences after the convention was called had 
greatly increased the alarm over the state of the coun- 
try, and when it met the few who desired a new Consti- 
tution had become many. The convention, therefore, 
proceeded to do two things that were beyond its author- 
ity, unconstitutional and revolutionary, (i) It voted at 
once that *'a national government ought to be estab- 
lished." (2) It afterwards proposed a method of ratifi- 
cation entirely opposed to the Articles of Confederation 
and to the wishes of Congress, namely, that when nine 
states (instead of thirteen) ratified the Constitution it 
should be binding upon those ratifying. 

Ratification of the Constitution. The whole action 
illustrates the fact that constitutions become as waste 
paper when they no longer suit the needs of a people, 
that the real power resides in the people, and that when 
they will they can take matters into their own hands. 
Congress seemed to recognize this, and with true patri- 
otism carried out the wishes of the convention as to rati- 
fication. It transmitted the Constitution to the legisla- 
ture of each state, and called for a convention, elected in 
each state by the people, to act upon it. By June, 1788, 
eight states had ratified. The conventions of New 
Hampshire and Virginia came in June, and it was a time 
of great suspense. "The period extending from the 



GENESIS OF THE CONSTITUTION 153 

publication of the report of the convention to the ratifi- 
cation of New Hampshire and Virginia . . . was one 
of the most critical and momentous in the history of 
America." ^ In June New Hampshire and Virginia rati- 
fied, but with some difficulty and by a close vote. This 
made ten states, more than enough to put the Constitu- 
tion into effect. New York ratified in July. This left 
only North Carolina and Rhode Island, which were not 
a part of the Union when Washington was inaugurated 
and the new government began. North Carolina did 
not reject the Constitution, but Rhode Island did. Her 
legislature refused to call a convention to ratify, but sub- 
mitted the Constitution to the various town meetings. 
Only two hundred and thirty-two persons voted for it 
and two thousand seven hundred and eight against it. 
It was not until May, 1790, that Rhode Island finally 
entered the Union. Three states voted unanimously in 
favor of the Constitution, but in several states, notably 
New York, the result was very doubtful. There ratifi- 
cation was brought about only by the greatest exertions 
of Hamilton and others, and the vote stood thirty to 
twenty-seven. 

Influences for and against the New Constitution. 
One great influence in carrying ratification in the 
states was a series of essays written by Hamilton, 
Madison, and Jay, on what the Constitution was and 
what it proposed to accomplish. These essays together 
are called "The Federalist," and ought to be read by 
every one who wishes to understand our Constitution 
thoroughly. 

Men like Patrick Henry, who were true patriots, op- 
posed the Constitution, partly, at least, because it did not 
definitely state the rights belonging to the people. This 
1 Channing's History^ p. 272. 



154 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

objection was widespread, and had large influence in 
the contest over ratification, and many of the states, 
although ratifying, recommended amendments covering 
the rights of the people. The first Congress proposed 
twelve such amendments, and ten of them were promptly 
ratified and went into effect in 1791. These ten amend- 
ments are often called a Bill of Rights, and refer to the 
separation of church and state, freedom of the press, 
right of petition, and other safeguards of personal lib- 
erty. The original Constitution, then, as framed by 
the convention, was never practically tried, but it is this 
Constitution with the ten articles added under which 
the nation has developed. 

The Constitution put into Effect. As soon as Con- 
gress knew that nine states had ratified, it passed a reso- 
lution setting a day for choosing electors, and finally for 
putting the new Constitution into eff'ect. The place 
designated was New York, where Congress was then sit- 
ting, and the time the first Wednesday in March, which 
happened to be the fourth of the month. Therefore 
the fourth of March has ever since been the day for the 
beginning of a new administration.^ 

There is an oft-repeated story about Franklin which 
is worthy of being retold as long as our Constitution is 
of interest. Upon the back of the chair in which 
Washington sat when he presided over the convention 
a rising sun had been painted. As the last members 
were signing, and Franklin saw his hopes fulfilled, he 
said to those about him that it was often difficult to 
distinguish in a picture a rising from a setting sun. *' I 

1 Washington did not take the oath of office and begin his ad- 
ministration until April 30, 1789. Procrastination and the uncer- 
tainties of travelling in that age prevented the assembly of a quo- 
rum of both houses of Congress before that time. 



GENESIS •OF THE CONSTITUTION 155 

have," said he, ''often and often, in the course of the ses- 
sion, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its 
issue, looked at that behind the President without being 
able to tell whether it was rising or setting ; but now, at 
length, I have the happiness to know that it is a rising 
and not a setting sun." ^ The venerable man, whose 
life had been so full of benefits to his country and man- 
kind, was certainly a true prophet. 

SUMMARY 

The first step toward a new Constitution was taken in 1785, 
when commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met at 
Mount Vernon to consider questions relating to commerce. 
This meeting led to a convention at Annapolis in 1786, and 
this in turn to the famous Constitutional Convention at 
Philadelphia in 1787. 

In this convention several different plans of government 
were proposed, and it was only after a great struggle that 
the Constitution of the United States was adopted. Even 
greater difficulties attended its ratification in several of the 
states ; but it was finally adopted by a sufficient number, and 
put in operation in April, 1789. 

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS 

1. What things, according to your observation of local politics, 
tend to separate people into parties or factions ? 

2. Are there communities in your state, county, or township 
which have few dealings with one another and tend to dislike one 
another ? If so, can you account for the condition on religious 
grounds ; on social or racial grounds ; on geographical grounds ? 

3. The town of Castle Rock (see page 37) has two rivers which 
flow through it and join together in the adjoining town. Years ago 
the people of the two valleys disliked one another, and had few 

1 Fiske's Civil Government^ p. 307. 



156 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

dealings. What reason does the map show for this? Consider 
especially ease of communication. 

4. Give illustrations of the way in which religious, social, and 
political ill feeling hinder progress by preventing beneficial com- 
mon action among men of to-day. Is this spirit of separateness 
wholly bad ? If not, what are some of its benefits ? 

5. We have spoken of religious differences among the colonies 
as tending to make union difficult. Can you think of religious con- 
ditions which would have made union altogether impossible ? 

6. What is the effect of common language on the question of 
united action among men ? Illustrate your answer. 

7. Religion, language, and law have been called the greatest 
means of securing unity among men. According to this test, were 
the colonies destined to separation or to union ? 

8. Classify the reasons for disunion among the colonies under 
these heads: social; economic; geographical. Which was most 
fundamental ? 

9. Suppose that New Netherland had contained 500,000 people 
in 1664, would that fact have had any bearing on the question of 
ultimate union among the colonies ? 

10. The Germans have a motto, " Beyond the mountains there 
are also men." What is its social significance ? Can it be applied 
to the conditions prevailing in the colonies ? Is a range of moun- 
tains a more effectual barrier to social intercourse than a broad 
river, an arm of the sea, or a belt of forest land ? 

11. What is the social importance of road improvement mea- 
sures ? 

12. If forests and uninhabited tracts between colonies were a 
means of keeping them apart, what would have been the effect of 
a large increase of population ? 

13. Suppose that the Revolutionary War had not come, would it 
have been possible for the thirteen American colonies to remain 
permanently separated ? 

14. Show how the development of the North differed from that 
of the South. Consider soil, cHmate, products, labor, trades, and 
commerce. 

15. Look up the condition of roads, travel upon the water, etc., 
during colonial times. See McMaster, History of the American 
People, vol. i. 

16. Illustrate, from facts connected with your own locality, how 
a common danger serves to draw people together. Cases of danger 
from Indians would be in point; possibly others might be given. 



GENESIS t)F THE CONSTITUTION 15/ 

17. Show from recent American history that a war has great 
influence in uniting people. Show from the Civil War that it may 
have just the opposite result. What conclusions can you draw as 
to the kind of war that unites, and the kind that creates a feeling 
of disunion ? 

18. Read the Franklin Plan of Union, with the author's com- 
ments, in Old South Leaflets, No. 9. What evidence does it con- 
tain on the difficulties of communication between the colonies ? 

19. Is there a stamp act in operation now.? If so, is it a state or 
a national act? Is it effective 1 Is it just ? Is it easy to collect ? 
Why did the stamp act of 1765 have such a peculiar history ? 

20. Is the method of " boycotting " used at present, and if so, 
under what circumstances is it resorted to ? 

21. Samuel Adams has been called " the man of the town meet- 
ing." How is the phrase justified ? In what way did the township 
system influence the formation of committees of correspondence "^ 
See Hosmer, Samuel Adams, American Statesmen series. 

22. What significance is there in the name " Continental Con- 
gress " ? 

23. Read the Agreement of the People, Old South Leaflets, No. 
26. Was this a written constitution ? Did it ever go into operation ? 
What ideas does it contain which are familiar to Americans? 

24. Read the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, Fiske's Civil 
Government. Does the document create a confederacy or a cen- 
tralized government ? Compare its provisions with those of the 
Articles of Confederation. 

25. Was the Mayflower compact a constitution ? Did it create 
a government of three departments, or provide any " frame of gov- 
ernment " at all ? 

26. Read the Articles of Confederation in Fiske's Civil Govern- 
me7it, or the Old South Leaflets, No. 2. What division of powers 
did they make as between the states and the national government ? 
Was there any executive or judiciary separate from the legislature ? 
How were the members apportioned among the states ? Was this 
method of apportionment necessary in a confederation ? 

27. The representatives in the continental congress have been 
likened to ambassadors of thirteen nations. What justification is 
there for this simile ? Do ambassadors, when they hold a " con- 
gress," legislate for their combined countries, or make agreements ? 

28. Why did the western lands constitute a bond of union among 
the confederated states ? How did the states as a whole expect to 



158 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

benefit from them? See Fiske's Critical Period^ or Hinsdale, 
The Old Northwest, 

29. Read the Ordinance of 1787, Old South Leaflets^ No. 13. 
What ideas does it contain that are also found in the Constitution 
of the United States ? What important clauses does it contain on 
the subject of education ? How have they influenced popular edu- 
cation ? Did the ideas originate with the makers of the Ordinance ? 
See page 45. 

30. Suggest such amendments to the Articles of Confederation 
as you think might have made it an efficient instrument of govern- 
ment without destroying the character of the confederation? See 
account of the New Jersey Plan, page 150. Did it supply such 
amendments as would probably have been successful ? 

31. Why did Maryland refuse to ratify the Articles of Confed- 
eration unless the other states would give up claims to western 
lands ? 

32. Why did the Stamp Act Congress and the First Continental 
Congress need no written constitution ? 

33. Webster in his reply to Hayne {Riverside Literature Series^ 
No. 122, page 217) gave expression to the sentiment, "Liberty 
and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Does the 
meaning of this sentiment receive illustration and point from the 
events of the confederation period ? Webster did not seek to 
"penetrate the veil" which hid disunion from his eyes, but he 
thought that, could he do so, he should behold " states dissevered, 
discordant, belligerent ; a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched 
in fraternal blood." Read the entire speech and try to determine 
what historical and logical justification there is for the great ora- 
tor's statements. (This is for advanced students only.) 

34. Read the Virginia Plan (Madison's Journal). What things 
in it were embraced in the Constitution of the United States ? 

35. James Madison has often been called " the father of the Con- 
stitution." Is the distinction justly conferred ? Give reasons. 

36. What reasons were there for making all sessions of the con- 
vention of 1787 secret? 

37. It has been shown that the people who lived on the seaboard 
were generally in favor of the Constitution, while those living in 
the interior of the country showed a majority against it. Can you 
give any reason for this ? Think of the rapid growth of the idea 
that a Constitution was needed to replace the Articles of Confeder- 



GENESIS OF THE CONSTITUTION 159 

ation, and also think of the different occupations and interests of 
the people of the seaboard and the interior. 

38. Why was the Constitution submitted to conventions in the 
states for ratification rather than to the state legislatures ? 

39. Suppose that Rhode Island had persisted in her refusal to 
accept the Constitution, what would have been the result upon the 
Union as a whole ? 

40. Suppose that New York's vote had stood twenty-seven to 
thirty instead of thirty to twenty-seven, what effect would that fact 
have had up6n the formation of the Union ? 

Note. — With a copy of Madison's Journal of the Proceedings 
of the Constitutional Convention^ and of Eliot's Debates^ a very 
profitable series of exercises can be planned for advanced students. 
They may be asked to find out the opinions of certain men upon 
any of the subjects discussed ; to see how close the vote was on 
some provisions, or at least how general the sentiment was, for or 
against ; they may study the evolution of any particular article or 
section of the Constitution. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE CONSTITUTION 

Dual Government ^ in the United States. Most of 
the people in the United States are subject to two gov- 
ernments, each supreme in its sphere, the national gov- 
ernment and the state government. This peculiarity is 
not a matter of choice, but a result of development. The 
manner in which the colonies were settled and developed 
produced thirteen units. When the new Constitution 
was about to be framed, it was evident to all that no sys- 
tem would be practicable for a moment that did not leave 
these units, to a great extent, separate and independent. 
In them had to be left the supreme power over local gov- 
ernment. Thus came the part of our dual system which 
we call the state government. 

But experience under the Confederation showed the 
states that they could not entirely trust their welfare and 
the preservation of a civilized society to individual state 
governments, each separate from and independent of the 
others. The second part of the dual system, a powerful 
national government, was plainly necessary. To have a 
union of any strength, each state must give up some of 
the powers it would exercise if it were independent, as it 
practically was under the Confederation. What it would 
have to give up would naturally be those powers that ex- 
perience had shown would bring the states into conflict 
with one another, and with the central government. A 
1 See Bryce, i. 15-18, 35, 36. 



THE CONSTITUTION l6l 

study of the Constitution will show that such powers are 
expressly granted to Congress, and in many cases ex- 
pressly prohibited to the states. The determination of 
the relations between state and national government was, 
probably, the most difficult problem before the conven- 
tion. In solving it the members of the convention 
solved what is perhaps the most difficult problem in the 
science and art of government. 

This double feature must be thoroughly understood 
before one can get a clear idea of just what the Constitu- 
tion aimed to do. There is no such dualism in England. 
There are English counties, townships, and boroughs, 
but no combination of them into states with large inde- 
pendent powers. There is no such dualism in France, 
although it is a republic. Substantially all the powers 
of government down to the smallest local divisions are 
exercised by the central government at Paris. This 
dualism did not seem strange to the makers of the Con- 
stitution. They had been used to practically the same 
thing in their experience as colonists. The central gov- 
ernment, with a few definite but limited powers, was in 
the king and Parliament. There the sovereignty lay. 
But in matters of local government the colony was 
nearly, if not quite, independent. 

Difficulty in Adjustment. The difficulty which the 
leaders in the convention of 1787 found was the adjust- 
ment of these two systems of government without the 
destruction of either one. The liberty of the individual 
citizen depended in large measure upon the right of com- 
plete local self-government. The remarkable ability for 
self-government shown by Americans has depended in 
large measure upon the constant use of their opportuni- 
ties in this direction. It was necessary, therefore, to 
arrange the system so that states should be protected 



l62 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

from decay and secured in their powers over local gov- 
ernment. It would have been a calamity if the powers 
of self-government in the local division from state to 
township had been in any way impaired. For after all 
our greatness as a people and a race has come from that 
power of self-government which our Teutonic forefathers 
had while they were yet savages in the forests of Ger- 
many. Many delegates to the convention saw this in a 
general way, and felt very anxious on the subject of local 
independence. On the other hand, it was just as clear 
to the delegates that their liberty and power of self-gov- 
ernment would amount to little while anarchy or civil war 
stared them in the face. They saw that the safety and 
dignity of the states and all local units depended upon a 
central government that should have the authority and 
ability to compel states and individuals to refrain from 
those acts that would lead to anarchy or civil war. 

Separation into Departments. Experience led the 
makers of the Constitution to divide the government into 
three parts, legislative, executive, and judicial. Some- 
times all the powers of government are united in one 
man or one body of men. This gives the best opportu- 
nity for injustice and tyranny. As society has developed 
there has been a strong tendency to separate the powers 
of government, and to make them more or less independ- 
ent of one another. One part is thus a check upon 
another, and any encroachment upon the rights of the 
people in a government thus organized is more difficult. 

In England there were the crown, the Parliament, and 
the courts of law. In the colonies there was a more or 
less distinct line between the departments of govern- 
ment. The departments defined in the Constitution are 
not entirely separate ; all get their authority from the 
Constitution and are equal in that respect ; one cannot 



THE CONSTITUTION 163 

rightfully usurp the powers of another, but each acts as 
a check upon the others, and a given department is not 
wholly confined in its action to its own sphere. The 
executive takes part in the law-making ; Congress 
performs certain executive acts and sits as a court ; the 
judiciary has a check upon the law-making body, but 
is, of all departments, the most nearly distinct and inde- 
pendent. 

Delegated and Implied Powers. Two classes of 
powers are exercised by the central government under 
the Constitution, — delegated and implied powers. From 
the time of the first settlements the several colonies 
exercised many independent powers of government re- 
lating to local rights, which the development of the col- 
ony made necessary, and which English peoples had 
always exercised. But the new central government had 
no powers that had thus grown up with it. Its powers 
were given or delegated \.o it by the states.^ These dele- 
gated powers are definite ; they can be named, counted, 
and set down in a list ; they differ radically from the 
powers that grew up with the colonies, which are indefi- 
nite and include everything not specifically " delegated."^ 

It was impossible, however, to enumerate in the Con- 
stitution every act that the national government might 

1 There has been much controversy as to who delegated these 
powers to the national government. The preamble to the Constitu- 
tion says, " We the people of the United States." Did this mean 
the people of the United States as a whole, or the people of each 
separate, individual one of the United States? The latter meaning 
seems to be indicated by the enacting clause which follows the in- 
strument and precedes the signatures ; this reads : " Done in con- 
vention by the unanimous consent of the states present." What- 
ever it may have meant once, through the inexorable logic of his- 
toric events it has come to mean now the people of the United 
States as a whole. 



164 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

have the right to do in order to exercise these delegated 
powers. Many of its powers, therefore, depend upon a 
reasonable construction of what the makers of the Con- 
stitution meant to have the central government do ; 
these are called implied powers. The doctrine of im- 
plied powers was first established and carried out by 
Chief Justice Marshall of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, and one very important work of the 
Supreme Court has been to determine cases depending 
upon these implied powers of the central government. 

The Constitution a Growth, not a Creation. The 
men who drew up the Constitution were practical men, 
and did not rely very much upon theory. In almost 
everything they relied upon experience in determining 
what to do. They got their ideas from the history of 
the colonies, from their experiences under the Confedera- 
tion, from the Albany Plan of Union, and from the New 
England Confederation. The Constitution, then, was the, 
result of long evolution. Every attempt at union, every 
instrument of government from the Connecticut Fun- 
damental Orders down to the Articles of Confederation, 
had a bearing upon the great Constitution under which 
we live.i The process of evolution goes back even far- 
ther than that. It takes in the development of English 
liberty and government. It was not ** struck off at a 
given time by the brain and purpose of man," as Mr. 
Gladstone said ; but it has proceeded from progressive 
history as much as the British constitution. It has given 
America the great advantage of having a written public 
law, separate from ordinary legislation, to which all acts 
of the law-making body must conform. It made it neces- 
sary to have a Supreme Court, the greatest tribunal in 

1 Read and compare the Fundamental Orders and the Articles 
of Confederation. 



THE CONSTITUTION 165 

the world, to determine whether the acts of ordinary 
legislation do so conform. Nor is it a revised version of 
the British constitution, as some have seemed to think. 
Its development has been its own, and as different from 
that of the British constitution as the life of America 
has been different from the life of England. Our Con- 
stitution, therefore, was not made ; it grew. 

The Constitution still Growing.^ Not only was the 
Constitution of 1787 a growth, but it has been growing 
ever since. It was made for four millions of people who 
occupied a mere fringe of eastern North America. It 
answers just as well for eighty millions who have spread 
over the continent. It was made for eighteenth century 
conditions, before the great developments in science, in 
manufacturing, in commerce, in industry ; before the 
growth of cities ; before the building of railroads, canals, 
telephones ; before the rise of corporations and the great 
accumulations of wealth. It stands the enormous strain 
that changed conditions bring, and seems to be as well 
adapted to our day as to the beginning of the nineteenth 
century. It was made before the United States had a 
territory ; under it nearly forty territories have been 
organized, and most of them have grown into states. It 
was made for peace ; it has stood the strain of four wars, 
one of them a civil war of vast proportions. It was 
made for a United States whose furthermost boundary, 
it was thought, would be the Mississippi ; under it the 
United States have expanded to the Pacific, have taken 
Alaska, and passed the bounds of the North American 
continent. It was made for a simple civilization ; it 
does for a complex civilization. These changes have 
made necessary new constructions of the Constitution 
and alterations in its form by amendments. The Con- 

1 Bryce, i. 391-399. 



l66 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

stitution drawn up by the convention and ratified by the 
states was practically never in operation. Changes in 
its written form began at once. The latest change, the 
Fifteenth Amendment, was made in 1870, and there is 
a possibility of a new one in the near future. 

The Unwritten Constitution.^ We should also bear 
in mind that alongside of the written has grown up 
an unwritten Constitution, which has changed many 
features of the Constitution and is as powerful and as 
binding as any part of the written document. The real 
life of the Constitution is in its unwritten parts, in the 
construction placed upon its provisions by the courts 
and by Congress, and in the construction which the will 
of the people and the political necessities of a growing 
nation have made inevitable. The written Constitution 
is a sort of framework within which methods of doing 
things may shift back and forth to suit the needs of the 
times. It is the unwritten part that enables our Con- 
stitution to reflect accurately the changing life of the 
people ; without this possibility of growth and change, 
it could hardly have lasted until the civil war. The pos- 
sibility of an unwritten Constitution is due to the doc- 
trine of implied powers. Jefferson said that Chief Jus- 
tice Marshall and the Supreme Court were making a 
new Constitution by means of the implied powers of the 
Constitution. He was right 

It will be found in general that the changes which 
the unwritten Constitution has brought have tended to 
break down the barriers to direct control by the people. 
The framers of the document prescribed a method of 
electing president and vice-president that should secure 
the election against the direct action of the people. 
But an unwritten law has grown up that has nullified 

1 Bryce, i. 393-396- 



THE CONSTITUTION 167 

the written act, and has given into the hands of the 
people direct and absolute control of the elections of 
president and vice-president. 

The controlling purpose of the convention in provid- 
ing for the election of senators by state legislatures was 
to give, not to the people of the states, but to the states 
as political units, the control of the Senate of the United 
States. Within a few years we have seen a movement 
in favor of electing United States senators by the people 
so strong that in many states the people practically de- 
termine the choice before the legislature meets. 

Although the Constitution in no way forbids it, prob- 
ably no one ever will be elected the third time to the 
office of president of the United States, because there 
seems to be an unwritten law against a third term. 

The Fourteenth Amendment was passed to make it 
clear that newly emancipated slaves were citizens of the 
United States and of the states in which they lived. 
It provided also that if the rights of these citizens to 
vote were denied in any state, the representation of that 
state in Congress should be reduced in like proportion. 
But during the last few years we have seen constitutions 
adopted in several southern states practically forbid- 
ding negroes to vote. Congress has not reduced the 
representation of these states in the national legislature, 
nor to all appearances will it ever do so. 

If we refer back to the difficulty over ratification of 
the Constitution, we shall recall that many states hesi- 
tated because there was no bill of rights in the Constitu- 
tion. The first ten amendments were afterward passed 
as such a bill of rights, guaranteeing to the people those 
rights regarded as natural and individual. But as the 
United States has grown and civilization has become 
more complex, the tendency has been more and more 



l68 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

to reduce the number of these rights or to impair them, 
although sacredly guarded by the Constitution. The 
Supreme Court of the United States has upheld acts 
that were an impairment of such rights, and the tend- 
ency has grown very strong for the central govern- 
ment of the nation to invade and control rights that had 
been looked upon as natural and individual. 

The Constitution is, then, not entirely the set words 
and phrases written by Gouverneur Morris at the re- 
quest of the convention. It is what by actual opera- 
tion the people have made it, and upon their character 
it depends for what it really is. A constitution is not 
an end in itself, but a means to an end ; and that end 
is the security of life, liberty, and property, and the 
opportunity of each individual, as a part of society, to 
develop his powers to the fullest. It must conform to 
the expanding needs that new conditions bring, or be 
thrust aside as were the Articles of Confederation. 
Happily for us, the framers of our Constitution were men 
of sufficient wisdom to make it the embodiment of gen- 
eral fundamental principles, leaving the details of their 
application to be worked out as new conditions might 
suggest. There is, therefore, as far as we can see, no 
limit to its expansion and change as to methods and 
details, so long as the fundamental principles on which 
the government was founded endure. If the time ever 
comes when these principles cease to be binding, some 
other convention may meet to draw up for the people 
of that period a new Constitution. 

Nature of the Union under the Constitution.^ As 
we have seen, the Second Continental Congress as- 
sumed and exercised powers not granted to it. In some- 

^ See Channing, Students^ History of the United States, p. 259, 
and following. 



THE CONSTITUTION 169 

what the same way the convention of 1787 assumed 
authority not granted to it. Its members overthrew the 
constitution then in use, i, e., the Articles, and, hke peo- 
ple who thought that they represented those in whom 
the ultimate power rested, went ahead with an entirely 
new order of things. When they adopted the Virginia 
Plan as the basis of their action, they certainly intended 
to set in motion a national or federal system with a 
strong central government. Chief Justice Marshall 
said : ** From these conventions [which ratified the Con- 
stitution] the Constitution derives its whole authority." 
The people left to the states certain powers, granted to 
the central government other powers, and prohibited 
still others to the states and to the central government. 

When the conventions in the various states ratified 
the Constitution, could they ever recall their ratification 
and withdraw from the Union } Those who thought 
that the states were sovereign said they could. Those 
who thought the people as a whole were sovereign said 
they could not without the consent of the rest. This 
was the difficulty which led to the civil war. 

It has been said, and probably with truth, that if the 
states had thought when they were passing upon the 
Constitution that they could never withdraw, many 
would not have ratified. The idea that states could not 
withdraw, and that the Union was indestructible, was 
a matter of growth. It flourished as the United States 
flourished, and became stronger with the passing of 
every decade. The growth in population and territory, 
the increase in the power and influence of the central 
government, the necessary extension of its departments, 
brought nearer and nearer the day when it would be 
strong enough to maintain itself. Every year that 
passed made the people as a whole more accustomed to 



I/O GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the Union, more satisfied with its results ; every year 
added to the immensity of the interests that depended 
upon it. The question is, therefore, one of Httle mo- 
ment now. Whatever the Constitution meant then, it 
means now that the Union is indestructible. The very 
necessity of the growth of the United States has made 
secession impossible, although the Constitution itself is 
not entirely explicit on that point. Men of undoubted 
ability, honesty, and patriotism differed as to what the 
Constitution meant on this question ; so that during the 
civil war both sides claimed to be following the real 
intent of the Constitution. Both sides failed to see that 
it was the growth of the national idea that had bound 
the states together with bonds that could not be broken. 
The growth of this idea still guarantees the Union against 
disruption. It has been added as an unwritten law to 
the Constitution, which is as binding as its most sacred 
written provisions, and notwithstanding the fact that the 
greatest war of modern times was fought about this 
question, no written amendment to the Constitution for- 
bidding secession has ever been deemed necessary. 

SUMMARY 

The Constitution provides a double form of government. 
On the one hand it secures to the individual states the right 
of caring for all their internal affairs ; on the other it estab- 
lishes a strong central government, with full power to manage 
external affairs that concern all the states, and to keep peace 
among the states. 

The difficulty of adjusting the respective powers of the 
states and the central government was exceedingly great. It 
came near being too great for the convention ; and when the 
Constitution was submitted to the people of the states for 
ratification, it was this question of adjustment again which 
made ratification so difficult. 



THE CONSTITUTION 171 

Finally, the question whether the Constitution created an 
indestructible union of the states has been settled by the 
course of American history rather than by the mere words of 
the Constitution. 

In many other respects the written Constitution has been 
added to or has been modified by the course of events, so 
that we really have two constitutions, working side by side 
and supplementing each other, the one written, the other 
unwritten. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 

Republican Government. It was easily seen that 
the new government must be republican in form ; that 
is, it must be a government by the representatives of 
the people. A democratic form where the people as a 
whole acted, as in a town meeting, was clearly impossi- 
ble. Hamilton and others were charged with trying to 
make the new government a monarchy. Hamilton's 
personal views probably were that a monarchy achieved 
the best results. But while he did declare, " Sir, your 
people is a great beast," it was evident to him that under 
the circumstances a government of republican form was 
necessary. It was in fact the only form to which the 
people were accustomed. Before the war they had a 
king, to be sure, but he was three thousand miles away 
and they never saw him. They had, too, royal and 
proprietary as well as charter or republican colonies. 
But the people through their assemblies had absorbed 
so much power into their own hands that government 
in each colony had become in great measure republican. 

Congress of Two Houses.^ It is strange that there 
was any opposition to a legislature of two houses. 
Art. L, The colonies, in the main, had been used to 
sec. 1. legislatures of two branches. Although not 

necessary, they had established them early after the 

1 See Bryce, i. 183-188. 

2 The side-headings refer to the Constitution of the United 
States. 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 173 

pattern of the English Parliament. There were two 
exceptions to this : Pennsylvania and Georgia had legis- 
latures of but one house. The Congress under the Con- 
federation, too, had but one house, but the majority of 
the convention were not inclined to copy after so ineffi- 
cient a government. A second house was looked upon 
by some as an obstruction to rapid action. This was 
the very reason why it was favored by such conserva- 
tives as Washington. The following anecdote of Wash- 
ington and Jefferson illustrates his reasons. Jefferson 
was dining with Washington, and severely criticised the 
action of the convention in deciding upon two houses. 
Washington favored the plan, and said : '* You yourself 
have proved the excellence of two houses this very 
moment." Jefferson, much surprised, asked for an ex- 
planation. ** You have," said Washington, " turned 
your hot tea from the cup into the saucer to get it 
cool. It is the same thing that we desire of the two 
houses." This anecdote gives us not only an idea of 
the political tendencies of two great men, but also a 
glimpse of the manners of that day. The establishment 
of a national legislature of two houses finally led to the 
same thing being done in every state. 

Representation in Congress.^ The three great com- 
promises of the Constitution arose in connection with 
the legislative part of the government, and two 
of them in connection with the matter of rep- sec. u., 

T T 1 1 /^ r 1 • va.T, I, and 

resentation. Under the Coniederation repre- sec. m., 
sentation had been by states, each state being ^^^' '* 
entitled to from two to seven delegates. Each state 
had, however, but one vote. It was early decided that 
the convention did not care to follow the Articles of 
Confederation in regard to representation in the new 
^ See Fiske, Ci'itical Period, pp. 232-249, 262-267. 



174 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Congress, as far as the number of delegates was con- 
cerned. Nor did it want the members of Congress to 
be subject to the states in regard to their salary, and 
be liable at any time to recall by the states. Those 
who wanted a national government were strongly in 
favor of representation in both houses according to 
population, but those who feared a strong central gov- 
ernment wanted equal representation for the states in 
both houses. There was disagreement over popular 
representation even in the House of Representatives. 
But it was seen to be vitally necessary that the new 
government should be in direct touch with the people, 
and for that reason popular representation was insisted 
upon in the House. Great efforts were made to effect 
the same result in the Senate, and they seemed about to 
succeed. 

After the Virginia Plan, which called for a popular 
representation in both houses, had been adopted as the 
basis of the new Constitution, the delegates from the 
small states were about to leave the convention. It 
seemed as if the whole project of a new government 
must be abandoned. 

To satisfy the small states, it was necessary to find 
some method of giving them, as political units, consid- 
erable and equal powers in the new government. Here 
again, when much perplexed, experience guided the con- 
vention. The Connecticut delegates suggested that 
their method of representation might solve the problem. 
In that state, the governor and the upper house of the 
legislature were elected by the people as a whole ; but 
the lower house was made up of representatives from 
the various towns, each having the same number. This, 
practically, was the method adopted by the convention 
as a compromise. The states, as political units, were 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 1/5 

given equal representation ^in the Senate, regardless of 
their population, each being represented by Art. i., sec. 
two senators, but in the House the states were Art^r'sec. 
represented according to population. Thus ^^•> p^^- ^• 
resulted the first great compromise of the Constitu- 
tion. 

Apportionment of Representatives. The second 
compromise arose also in connection with the question 
of representation. In apportioning representatives ac- 
cording to population, the South would be at a great 
disadvantage unless slaves could be counted, because a 
large part of its population were blacks. These, the 
northern delegates protested, were property, not per- 
sons. The South contended that they were persons as 
well as property, and ought to be counted. The ques- 
tion also arose as to the method in which taxes should 
be levied upon the states, whether according to prop- 
erty or to population. The method of assessing upon 
each state its share of the expenses of government 
under the Confederation ^ had not been satisfactory. 
After long discussion, no good method could be found 
except taxation according to population. Should, then, 
the slaves be counted in determining the population ? 
The South thought not ; the North thought they ought 
to be so counted. For many years the colonists had 
been saying that representation and taxation ought to 
go together. It became necessary to apply the same 
rule at this time. The South agreed to have the slaves 
counted in ascertaining the population for purposes of 
taxation, and the North for purposes of representation. 
But, it was deemed unfair that slaves should count as 
much as freemen in the basis of representation, and it 
was a hardship that, in the way of taxation, they should 
^ Articles of Confederation, Article VIII. 



. 176 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

be counted as much as freemen whose wealth-pro due- 
Art. I. sec. ^^S power was much greater. It was agreed. 
Amend '^' therefore, as a compromise, that three fifths 
mentxiv., of the slavcs should be counted in both in- 
^^' ^' stances. Three fifths was chosen because that 
fraction had before been agreed upon by the slave states 
when, under the Articles, they had discussed changing 
the basis of contribution by the states to the central 
government. 

Slavery.^ The third compromise arose in regard to 
the power of Congress over slavery and the slave trade. 
On the part of those who desired a strong central gov- 
ernment, there was a firm determination to give Con- 
gress absolute control over commerce. Those who 
favored slavery would not agree to this, and insisted 
that the power of Congress over the slave trade should 
Art. I. sec. ^^ limited. The result of the discussion was 
ix., par. I. the section that forbids Congress to prohibit 
the slave trade before 1808, although it was authorized 
to levy a tax of ten dollars per head upon all slaves 
imported. This tax was never levied, because the influ- 
ence of the South in Congress was very great. 

Representation and Bills of Revenue. Connected 
with the matter of representation in the Senate and the 
Art. I., sec. Housc was the question as to who should ori- 
vu., par. I. g\-j^2ite bills of revenue. When equal repre- 
sentation in the Senate was conceded to the smaller 
states, the power of originating bills of revenue was 
given to the House, but the Senate was allowed the 
power to make and concur in amendments.^ Bills of 
revenue have been construed to mean bills for levying 

1 For a good brief review of the three compromises, see Chan- 
ning, Students' History of the United States^ pp. 260-262. 

2 Bryce, i. 178. 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS \^7 

taxes only, and many bills Jooking to the raising of 
money have originated in the Senate. There was an 
attempt, also, to secure a method of representation 
according to wealth as well as population.^ It was 
thought by some that the Senate ought to be founded 
upon the relative amount of wealth of the states. This 
was found impracticable. 

Right to vote for Representatives. As long as there 
was to be one house elected to represent the people, 
who should be allowed to vote } The conven- ^^.^ j ^^^^ 
tion decided to leave that to the states. The "•' p^""- ^• 
Constitution simply says that those whom the states 
allow to vote for members of the lower house of the 
state legislature may vote for members of the House of 
Representatives. There is at present one restriction 
on the power of the state to regulate the right to vote 
which was not in the original Constitution. It is the 
Fifteenth Amendment, which says that the Amend- 
rights of citizens of the United States to vote °^^^^ ^^^ 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, 
or by any state, on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. This restriction is binding more 
in theory than in practice, for some states have suc- 
ceeded, by educational and other qualifications, in prac- 
tically denying or abridging the right of citizens to 
vote because of their race or color. 

Election of Representatives by Districts. The times, 
places, and manner of holding elections for members of 
both houses are left by the Constitution to the state, 
but Congress was given power to make or alter such 
regulations with one exception. 

In 1842 Congress passed a law requiring representa- 
tives to be elected in each state by districts equal in 
^ See also the Albany Plan of Union. 



178 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

number to the representatives from that state. But it 
also required that the districts should adjoin one another.^ 
This has led, in many states, to political schemes that 
Art. I. sec. would favor, in the districting, the party in 
iv., par. I. power. The parts of the states having large 
majorities in favor of the opposition party are thrown 
into one district. In this way a number of voters suffi- 
cient in a fair districting to elect four or five representa- 
tives can elect perhaps but one. And the party in power 
in the state gets an unfair proportion of the representa- 
tives from the state. Bryce, in his "American Com- 
monwealth," speaks of the famous Shoestring District 
in Mississippi, and like examples in Missouri and South 
Carolina, where the negro voters are crowded together 
in as few districts as possible. Examples of this prac- 
tice are to be found in nearly if not quite all of the 
states. The custom started long before the law of 
1842. It got its name, " gerrymandering," ^ from El- 
bridge Gerry, who contrived a method of dividing Mas- 
sachusetts to suit his party. 

Term of Office and Qualifications of Representa- 
tives. The term of office of a representative in Congress 
Art. I. sec. ^^^ fixcd at two ycars. It was the design to 
ii., par. i. make the House of Representatives directly 
subject to the will of the people. It therefore changes 
every two years, and has to be all elected over again. 
The whole policy of the House, and the party to which 
a majority of its members belong, may thus be changed 

^ When a new apportionment has given a state one or more addi- 
tional representatives, Congress has sometimes allowed the state to 
choose them for the whole state until a new districting could be 
made. Such representatives are called representatives at large. 

2 On the custom of " gerrymandering," see Fiske, Civil Govern- 
ment ^ pp. 216, 217. 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 1/9 

every two years at the discretion of the voters. There 
are restrictions, also, determining who may Art. i. sec. 
serve as representative. He must be at least "•' p^^- ^^ 
twenty-five years old, must have been a citizen of the 
United States for seven years, and must be an inhabitant 
of the state in which he is chosen. Therefore, a foreign- 
born citizen may serve in the House of Representatives 
as well as the Senate, although he may not be Presi- 
dent. 

Residence of Representatives. While a member of 
the House must be an inhabitant of the state in which 
he is chosen, he need not be, as far as the ^rt. i. sec. 
Constitution is concerned, of the district in "•» p^"^- ^^ 
which he is chosen. But here again the unwritten law 
has stepped in, and in practice a man is very seldom 
elected unless an inhabitant of the district. In Eng- 
land, a member of the House of Commons does not have 
to be an inhabitant of the part of the kingdom even in 
which he is chosen. An inhabitant of England may be 
chosen to represent a district in Scotland. In America 
it is different. Here the territory is so large in extent, 
and so diversified in interests, that it is well to re- 
quire representatives to be at least inhabitants of the 
states they represent. Indeed, the growth of the col- 
onies as separate units made any other plan impossi- 
ble. 

The "People." When the Constitution says that the 
people of each state have the power to elect the mem- 
bers of the lower house of the national Con- ^rt. i. sec. 
gress, what does it mean by " people " } In "•> p^''- '• 
general it does not mean all the people, because there 
are many of them who, for various reasons, cannot vote. 
The " people," therefore, are narrowed down to the 
voters. Among the voters the majority elects, and the 



l80 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

minority has practically no power. So it is after all a 
comparative few who elect, for the number who have 
the right of casting a ballot is small compared with the 
whole population. On this account some have insisted 
that the sovereignty resides in those who actually wield 
the power in the state. 

Direct Taxes and Persons bound to Service. Re- 
presentatives and direct taxes, as we have seen, are 
apportioned among the several states according to pop- 
ulation. The compromise which brought about this 
adjustment was not much of a compromise after all, for 
the national government has seldom resorted to direct 
Art. I. sec. taxcs. It is interesting to notice, in this con- 
ii., par. 3. nection, that, in the article requiring represen- 
tation and direct taxes to be based upon population, the 
Constitution speaks of a class of persons distinct from 
all the rest. It is " those bound to service for a term of 
years." This class was evidently a large one, and repre- 
sented conditions of life that, happily, have long since 
passed away. 

Basis of Representation. In order to tell how to 
adjust the number of representatives to each state, a 
Art. I. sec. ccnsus was provided for every ten ycars. The 
ii., par. 3. q^q taken in 1900 was the twelfth census of 
the United States. The convention at first determined 
that there should be one representative to forty thou- 
sand people, as shown by the census. This was called 
the dasts of representation} Just before adjournment, 

^ Congress decides upon what it considers the most convenient 
number of representatives, and then divides the total population of 
the United States by that number. The result is the basis of repre- 
sentation. The population of each state is then divided by the basis. 
The result is the number of representatives for the state. In case 
there is a fraction remaining, not less than one half, the state is 
generally granted an additional representative. 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS l8l 

at the request of Washingtoir, the basis was changed 
from forty thousand to not less than thirty thousand, in 
order to give the people a larger representation. The 
convention, of course, did not have any accurate way of 
knowing what the population of the United States was 
at that time, for no census had then been taken. The 
Constitution itself, therefore, says how many each state 
should have in the House of Representatives of the First 
Congress. The total number was sixty-five; ^^^ j g^^ 
no state had more than ten and two had but one ^^^ p^^- 3- 
representative. As the population of the United States 
has increased. Congress has had to raise the basis of 
representation in order to prevent the House of Repre- 
sentatives being too large. Now the basis is 194,182. 
But the state of Nevada has not one third that number 
of people. It might seem that such a state should have 
no representative, but the Constitution provides that 
each state shall have at least one representative, no mat- 
ter what its population. 

The Speaker of the House.^ The House has the 
right to choose its own Speaker. This office has grown 
to be one of importance, next, perhaps, to the ^^.^ j g^^. 
presidency. More and more power has been i^par. 5- 
drawn into the hands of the Speaker, because the work 
of so large a body as the House must be done by com^ 
mittees. The Speaker chooses the committees, and thus 
practically controls legislation. 

The Senate.2 In the Senate we have a very different 
body. The term of members of the House is short, that 
of members of the Senate is long, six years, ^j.^ j g^^. 
The House changes every two years, the Sen- i"- 
ate never changes completely, for but a third of that 

1 On the speaker and the committee system, see Bryce, i. 154-164. 

2 Bryce, i. 97-105. 



l82 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

body is chosen at each election. The people elect the 
members of the House, the senators are representatives 
of the states as organized political units, and are chosen 
by the state legislatures. The House is supposed to 
respond rapidly to changes of sentiment in the people, 
the Senate. responds slowly. It was expected to be a 
sort of balance wheel. Whether it has entirely justified 
this expectation in all regards may, perhaps, be open to 
question. At any rate it has had a great history, and 
has enrolled among its members some of the greatest of 
Americans. Each state has two senators, and therefore 
all have equal representation. Nevada, with its less than 
fifty thousand people, has as many representatives in the 
Senate as New York with its seven millions of people. 
This is in striking contrast to the House, where New 
York or Pennsylvania has more than thirty times as 
Art I sec ^^^^Y representatives as Nevada. Each sena- 
iii., par. i. ■(-qj- j^^s ouc votc, and if the senators from any 
state vote on different sides of a question the vote of 
that state is practically lost. The two senators are 
chosen by the state legislatures. The Constitution does 
not provide the method of election, but this has been 
done by Congress. Yet the people of a state often deter- 
mine beforehand who shall be senator, and the legisla- 
ture simply registers their decision. 

Organization of the Senate. To secure permanency 
for the Senate, the first senators were divided into three 
Art. I. sec. classcs, to scrvc two, four, and six years respec- 
iii., par. 2. tivcly, SO that the term of only one third could 
expire at any one time. This provision makes the Senate 
a permanent body, for at no time can there be an entirely 
Art I sec ^^^ Senate. No one can be a senator who is 
iii., par. 3. ^ot at Icast thirty years old, and who has not 
been a citizen of the United States nine years. Albert 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 183 

Gallatin, one of our ablest finaitciers, was elected when 
too young, and his seat was vacated. The same thing 
happened in another case. The Senate cannot, like the 
House, choose its own presiding officer. The ^j.^ j ^^^^ 
Constitution makes the Vice-President the "i-, par. 4. 
President of the Senate. But the Senate chooses a pre- 
siding officer, who acts during the frequent absence of 
the Vice-President, and is called the President pro tem- 
pore. On account of the death of two Presidents and 
two Vice-Presidents, a President pro tempore ^^^ j ^^^^ 
has been necessary a considerable part of the ^^^-j p^""- 5- 
time since the close of the Civil War. The President 
pro tempore always has his vote as a senator, but the 
Vice-President has a vote only when the Senate is 
equally divided on a question. 

Impeachment. The Constitution gives to the House 
of Representatives the sole power of impeachment. Im- 
peachment is accusing a person of misconduct, ^j.^ j ^^^^ 
and is much the same as indictment by a grand "^•' p^^-^- 
jury, the House of Representatives acting somewhat as 
a grand jury. When a man is accused, or indicted, or 
impeached, he must be tried, and the Constitution gives 
to the Senate the sole power to try all cases of impeach- 
ment ; that is, the Senate sits as a court, and while so 
sitting senators are under oath or affirmation. They 
cannot convict a person unless two thirds of the mem- 
bers present vote for conviction ; and when the President 
of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court must preside. In the matter of impeach- 
ment the convention copied mainly from the custom in 
England, but there the punishment may be much more 
severe, and the conviction is much easier, as only a 
majority is necessary for conviction. There has been 
but one impeachment of a President, that of Andrew 



l84 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Johnson, during the exciting times of the reconstruc- 
tion period, when party feeling was at a white heat. 
Fortunately for the reputation of the presidency, and 
for that of the United States, the impeachment failed, 
although by but a single vote. 

Sessions of Congress.^ Congress must meet at least 
once each year, upon the first Monday in December 
Art. L, sec. unlcss a different day is set by law. There 
IV., par. 2. ^^^ ^^ least two sessions of each Congress,^ 
and the second must close at noon on March 4. The 
President has power to call an extra session of both 
^j.^ jj houses or of either house, and if the houses 
sec. iii. caujiot agree as to adjournment he may ad- 
journ them. The House of Representatives has never 
been convened alone ; neither has the President had to 
adjourn Congress because of disagreement. The Senate 
Art. I. sec. ^^^ oftcn been convened alone to transact ex- 
vL, par. I. ecutive business. Members of both houses 
are paid for their services out of the national treasury, 
and not out of the respective state treasuries as under 
the Confederation.^ They are thus directly under the 
control of the national government as to compensation, 
and the state has no influence over them in this regard. 
Art. I. sec. They are also privileged from arrest, except in 
vi., par. I. a^ fg^ cases, while going to or returning from 
a session of Congress and while in attendance upon it, 
and they cannot be called to account elsewhere for what 
is there said in debate. In this the Constitution follows 
the English law, which is of ancient origin. 

1 On the organization of the legislative department in 1789, see 
Hart, Formation of the Union^ pp. 141-143 ; for description of 
usual proceedings in Congress, Bryce, i. 130-133. 

2 Since the House changes once in two years, we speak of a new 
Congress once in two years. Each Congress, therefore, must have 
two sessions. 

^ See Articles of Confederation, Art. V. 



sec. 

2. 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 185 

The President's Veto. Every bill to become a law 
must pass both houses of Congress, and be presented 
to the President. He may veto it if he disap- ^^^ j 
proves of the bill, in which case he must send ^^^-y ^^^ 
it back to the house which originated it, and give his 
reasons. If both houses wish to pass it over his veto by 
a two thirds' majority, they may do so, and it becomes 
a law. If he holds the bill more than ten days (Sundays 
excepted), it becomes a law without his signature unless 
Congress adjourns before the ten days elapse, in which 
case it does not become a law. This method of destroy- 
ing a bill has received the name of " pocket veto," and 
was first used by Andrew Jackson. The word " veto " is 
not in the Constitution, but is in such common use that 
it accurately describes the method laid down for the 
passage of bills. The idea of vetoing bills was not at all 
new to the convention. Laws passed by colonial legis- 
latures had often been vetoed by the king in council. 
But the crown in England lost its veto power over acts 
of Parliament by refraining from its use. It was an act 
of wisdom to give a partial veto to the President of the 
United States, and in the main the power has been 
wisely used. 

Powers of Congress.^ The Constitution grants Con- 
gress large powers. The experience of the ^j.^ j ^^^^ 
United States under the Confederation was vm., par. i. 
sufficient to induce the convention to grant to Congress 
those powers for the lack of which the Confederation 
was a failure. We are not surprised, then, that the 
very first grant of power was that of laying and collect- 
ing taxes, duties, and excises, provided duties, imposts, 
and excises were uniform throughout the United States. 
In this connection we must bear in mind that direct 

1 Fiske, Civil Government, pp. 212-222. 



l86 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

taxes have to be apportioned among the various states 
according to population. The United States govern- 
ment gets most of its revenue from indirect taxes, such 
as duties on imported goods and excise duties on liquor 
and tobacco. It should be remembered, too, that a 
Art. I. sec. i^eeting had been called at Annapolis before 
viii.,par. 3. ^j^q convcntion of 1787 to arrange the trou- 
bles that had arisen from each state having the power 
to make its own commercial regulations. The Consti- 
tution has settled that matter once for all by giving 
Congress the control of all commerce, among the states 
as well as with foreign nations. 

Naturalization. Emigration to America began im- 
Art. I. sec. mediately after the Revolution. It was clearly 
viii.,par.4. seen that as a new and undeveloped country 
the United States could not wisely discourage the com- 
ing of the men and women necessary to develop its 
great resources. Although there was a strong anti- 
foreign feeling, the matter was treated with great wis- 
dom, and the control of naturalization was given into 
the hands of Congress, with the restriction that the laws 
must be uniform. The length of time necessary to 
acquire citizenship has been at different periods two and 
fourteen years respectively. It is now, and has been 
for nearly a century, five years. Notwithstanding that 
fact, large portions of territory have at various times 
been added to the United States and whole communi- 
ties have been naturalized by treaty. 

Power to coin and borrow Money. Congress has a 
very important power in its exclusive right to 
viii.'pars. ' coiu moucy and regulate the value thereof. 
^ ^^ ^" It may also borrow money on the credit of the 
United States. In accordance with this right. United 
States bonds have at various times been issued in vast 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 187 

amounts in return for money borrowed for specific pur- 
poses. Under the power to coin money has grown up a 
great system of national banks and a system of paper 
money so guarded as to be a safe substitute for coin. 
In many parts of the United States almost no money is 
seen but paper money, '' greenbacks," treasury notes, 
silver certificates, or the issue of national banks. In 
other parts, especially upon the Pacific coast, almost no 
money but coin of gold or silver is used. 

Post Offices and Post Roads. Another power granted 
to Congress that has become of great impor- ^^^ j g^^. 
tance is that of establishing post offices and viii.,par. 7. 
post roads. This was a matter of small concern at first, 
but the post office system has grown to enormous pro- 
portions. The power which the President has of appoint- 
ing post office officials has, because of their increase 
in numbers, added immensely to his political influence. 
He has under him a vast army of office-holders, who are 
ready to further his interests. In the time of Andrew 
Jackson grew up the political doctrine that " to the vic- 
tors belong the spoils," and every four years, if there 
was a change of administration, there was a great over- 
turning for political purposes. This condition of affairs 
led to great corruption, which civil service reform has 
to some extent succeeded in abolishing. 

The post office system is one of the most important 
features that have to do with our comfort, knowledge 
of the world, and high standard of intelligence. The 
ordinary letter now goes to any place within the United 
States for two cents. At first a charge was made ac- 
cording to distance, and the one who received the letter 
had to pay the postage. Letters were in that day so 
infrequent that any one was glad to pay for getting 
a letter. The rate was from six to twenty-five cents. 



l88 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Prepaid stamps were not generally used until 1855, at 
which time began the registering of letters. In 1863 
the postage on all ordinary letters was reduced to three 
cents ; in the same year began Xh^ free delivery system. 
The use of the very convenient postal card did not 
begin until 1872. 

Other Powers of Congress. A similar increase in 
importance has characterized the power which 

Art. I. 

sec. viii., Congress has over the discoveries and writings 
pars. -15. ^£ inventors and authors. The Patent Office, 
in which are deposited models of machines on which 
patents are desired, has become vast in extent, and the 
United States has become, probably, the greatest nation 
of inventors in the world. Writers secure the control 
of their works by copyrights. 

Congress has the power to declare war, to raise and 
support armies and navies, and to provide rules for 
their government. It can arm and call out the militia, 
and govern them when in the actual service of the 
United States. The Constitution gives the people vir- 
tual control over the army by forbidding any appropria- 
tion for a longer term than two years, just the length 
of the term of the House of Representatives. It is a 
curious fact that Congress has formally declared war 
but twice, although the United States has carried on 
four wars. In the case of the Mexican War, it declared 
that war already existed by the act of Mexico. In the 
Civil War the government did not regard the southern 
states as a nation. Those in arms in the South were 
regarded as persons obstructing the laws of the United 
States. By the Constitution Congress is specifically 
given the power to suppress insurrections. 

Implied Powers. It would have been unwise and 
impracticable to attempt a complete enumeration of all 



THE FEDERAL CONGRESS 189 

* 

the powers which Congress ought to have to carry out the 
national idea. Therefore a sweeping clause 
was added to the effect that Congress should sec.Viii., 
have the authority to make all laws necessary ^^^' ^ ' 
and proper for carrying into effect the powers specifi- 
cally enumerated in the Constitution, and all other pow- 
ers vested by the Constitution in the government or 
any department or officer of the United States. From 
this clause come the implied powers of the government 
under which the authority of the central government 
has been enormously increased, but without which it 
could hardly have secured its present dignity and power. 
Checks on Congress. Congress was also forbidden 
to do many things. It was forbidden to pro- ^^.^ j 
hibit the importation of slaves before 1808, or sec. ix. 
to levy any tax upon goods exported from any state. 
In order to make the government and society com- 
pletely republican, no title of nobihty can be granted by 
the United States ; nor can any foreign power gain 
influence over officials under the government, for such 
officials are expressly forbidden to receive from any 
king, prince, or foreign state any present, emolument, 
office, or title. 

SUMMARY 

The Constitution vests all legislative power in a Congress 
of two houses. One of these is called the Senate, and is 
composed of two senators from each state, chosen for terms 
of six years by the state legislatures. Thus the states are 
equal in the Senate. The other, called the House of Re- 
presentatives, is composed of members chosen every two 
years by the people of the several states. The representa- 
tives are apportioned among the states every ten years ac- 
cording to the census showing of population. In the House 



190 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

of Representatives, therefore, the states are very unequal in 
power. 

The things that Congress can do, as well as those it can- 
not do, are in general specified in the Constitution, but some 
powers are implied in addition to those granted. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE ^ 

Power of the President. ^ The President of the 
United States is in many respects more powerful than 
any European ruler. The Czar of Russia is an absolute 
ruler, theoretically, but his power is thoroughly hedged 
in by the fact that the real work of governing must be 
carried on by subordinate officers who determine for the 
Czar what shall be done. The President's power is set 
down in the Constitution, and within his sphere no one 
can limit him ; nor would any of his subordinates think 
for a moment of thwarting his will. He is more power- 
ful than the English sovereign, from whom the unwrit- 
ten constitution has gradually taken rights that were 
formerly possessed by the crown. Then, too, the power 
of a president or a sovereign depends very greatly upon 
the size and importance of the country of which he 
is the head, and upon the kind of people in it. In 
this respect, the President of the United States has 
back of him a force extremely great because of the 
extent and wealth of the country. He has behind him 
the enormous power of a people of high average intelli- 
gence and education, who are ingenious, vigorous, re- 
sourceful, and intensely patriotic. 

1 On the organization of the executive department, 1789, 1790, 
see Hart, Forjnation of the Union^ pp. 143-145; also Channing, 
Students' History of the United States^ pp. 279-286. 

2 For powers and duties of the President, see Bryce, i. ch. vi. 



192 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

A Single Esecutive. The matter of an executive for 

the new government caused considerable discussion in 

the convention. There had been no president 

Art, II. J , 

sec. i., of the Confederation. There had been a presi- 
dent of Congress, but he was a mere presiding 
officer. The office of governor in the various states was 
of course well known, and in Pennsylvania, at least, the 
head of the state was called president. All agreed that 
there ought to be an executive department separate 
from the other departments. But they were not sure 
that so much power ought to be given into the hands 
of one man. The weakness of the old Confederation 
without an executive settled the matter in favor of a 
single executive, but still the delegates had the old 
hatred of a central executive power. They had not for- 
gotten the royal colonial governors nor George III. 

Term of President and who should elect. They 
also were in doubt as to how long a term the executive 
Art. II. sec. ought to have, and whether or not he should 
i., par. I. have the right of reelection. They differed 
widely, also, as to who should choose the President. At 
first it was decided that they would have (i) a single 
executive, (2) who should be elected by Congress, and 
(3) serve for seven years ; (4) it was afterwards added 
that he should not be elected a second time. As 
will be seen, three of these four points were changed, 
showing how carefully the convention proceeded, and 
how ready they were to make changes that mature 
judgment approved. A very few, only, were 
in favor of allowing the people to choose the 
President. Many of the leaders considered the people 
as a whole a kind of mob, not to be trusted with the 
power of choosing their own rulers. The section of this 
book on the unwritten constitution shows us that the 



THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE I93 

attempt to head off the people did not succeed, and that 
in spite of the Constitution they have taken the matter 
into their own hands. As soon as the convention saw 
what powers it would be necessary to give to Congress 
and the President, it was evident that it would not be 
wise to have him elected by Congress. If he were so 
elected, he would be under its influence, and would not 
be a sufficient check upon it. Then, too, their disgust 
with the Confederation led them to see that if the new 
government were to act rapidly, vigorously, and effec- 
tively, the executive must be able to act independently. 
One man can have a thing entirely completed before a 
body of men are half done quarrelling about whether to 
do it or not. The convention decided finally to take 
away from Congress the power of electing the President, 
but they were not willing to give it into the hands of the 
people. 

The Electoral College. In casting about for some 
indirect way of electing the President, the experience of 
Maryland, which had a sort of electoral col- ^^^ jj 
lege, was taken as a guide. The convention ^ec. i, par. 
expected the method of election by the electo- Amend- 
ral college to work in this way : The people, 
without having any one in mind for President, or hav- 
ing any party conventions to nominate men, would meet 
and choose electors whom they thought to be men of 
excellent judgment and experience. These electors 
would meet at the appointed time for the purpose 
of electing a President. They would talk the matter 
over and discuss who would be the best man ; and, 
using their own judgment, without reference to what 
the people wanted, would select a President. This is 
all amusing to us now, for the members of the conven- 
tion of 1787, although very wise men, evidently did not 



194 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

understand the people. Their plan worked for a short 
time, but with the fourth election the original idea had 
forever vanished. Electors were chosen because they 
represented some party, and had pledged themselves 
beforehand to some candidate. To break this pledge 
would consign one to political oblivion. 

Method of Voting. The first method of voting for 
President and Vice-President was found very unsatisfac- 
Amend- tory. The electors voted for two men without 
ment XII. specifying which one they voted for as Presi- 
dent and which as Vice-President. The person receiv- 
ing the largest number of votes, if it was a majority of 
the electors, was President, and the one receiving the 
next largest number was Vice-President. In case there 
was no choice, if two persons had the same number and 
it was a majority, the House of Representatives had to 
elect, the representation from each state having but one 
vote. In this way, the President and the Vice-Presi- 
dent might belong to different parties, — as was the 
case with Adams and Jefferson in 1796. This method 
of voting led to trouble in 1800. At that time Jeffer- 
son and Burr received the same number of votes 
and a majority of the whole, and the election had 
to be determined by the House. There was what we 
now call a "dead-lock," the votes of eight of the six- 
teen states being for Jefferson, six for Burr, and two 
scattering. This gave no one a majority of states. 
Although Hamilton was an enemy of Jefferson, he 
thought Burr so unsafe a man for the presidency that, 
after many ballots had been taken, he persuaded his 
friends to cast the two scattering votes for Jefferson, 
who was elected. This difficulty led to the Twelfth 
Amendment to the Constitution, in 1804. In 1824 the 
House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams. 



THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 195 

* 

The most dangerous election case, however, was in 
1876, when Hayes ran against Tilden.^ There were 
double sets of returns from several states, mainly in the 
South, where there was still much trouble over recon- 
struction. The excitement was very great, and the 
country seemed on the verge of civil war. An electoral 
commission was appointed to decide the cases of double 
election returns. By a strict party vote Hayes was de- 
clared elected, although there was a great clamor against 
the decision as unjust. The serious difficulties in the 
presidential election of 1876 made it plain that some- 
thing ought to be done to remove this danger to the 
republic. On this account the act of 1887 was passed, 
in which the final determination of disputed elections 
of presidential electors was given to state authorities. 

The President a Party Man. The method of elec- 
tion adopted by the convention was supposed to arrange 
it so that the President could not be a party man, but 
would be somewhat like the King of England, removed 
from party strife. The exact opposite has come to pass. 
The President is wholly a party man. He would stand 
no chance whatever of election if he were not, and he 
keeps party interests always in view during his adminis- 
tration. The same tendency that has made the elec- 
tors strictly party men, has made the President as well 
a party man. Yet he is no more so than the prime 
minister of England ; and if it is right that the majority 
rule, it is right that the President whom they elect shall 
carry out their wishes. 

While the President is and must be, in the best sense 
of the term, a party man, the obligation upon him is 
very great not to be a party man in the bad sense of 
the -term, — that is, a mere party spoilsman. 

1 For an account of the contested election of \%']6-']']^ see Wil- 
son's Division and Reunion^ pp. 283-286. 



196 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The presidents of the United States have been men 
of high character and unquestioned loyalty. Although 
often extreme partisans originally, they have felt that 
they represented the country as a whole, and the dig- 
nity of the office and the greatness of the responsibility 
have kept them from acting unworthily of the office. 

Nominating Conventions.^ When the party system 
had grown up, in order that a party might be success- 
ful it had to fix upon some plan whereby all of its mem- 
bers should be sure of voting for the same man. They 
had to determine beforehand, therefore, for whom they 
should all vote. It is clear that all of the party could 
not get together and agree upon a man. Who, then, 
should pick out the man } In the case of the first elec- 
tions every one knew that Washington ought to be 
chosen. Afterward a congressional caucus selected the 
candidate. Sometimes state legislatures nominated can- 
didates. In either case the people had no direct part in 
the matter. There was a great protest against the con- 
gressional caucus, and state legislatures could not well 
nominate. Jackson was the first to be nominated by 
a convention, although it was simply a convention of 
Blount County, Tennessee. Other local conventions 
were held in other states. Jackson thus figured as the 
people's man. By 1832 all candidates were nominated 
in national conventions, and this has been the custom 



ever smce 



2 



Various Steps in Election. There are many steps 

^ For an account of party organization and nominating conven- 
tions, see Bryce, ii. 82 and following. 

2 These conventions are not required by the Constitution or by 
law. They have developed purely from the necessities of party 
management, and are examples of the growth of the unwritten 
constitution. 



THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE I97 

leading to the nomination and election of a man for 
President or Vice-President, (i.)* Meetings are held, 
known as primaries ; of the ward, if in a city, and of the 
town or precinct, if in the county. In the primaries 
delegates are chosen to represent the party in the county 
or district convention. They are chosen to bring about 
the nomination of some particular candidate for Presi- 
dent, and whether he is nominated or not may depend 
upon how the primaries vote. (2.) County or district con- 
ventions ^ choose delegates to the state convention, and 
the contest is to get delegates favorable to the candi- 
date whom the primaries had in mind. (3.) State con- 
ventions choose delegates to the national convention, 
twice as many as the state has senators and represent- 
atives in Congress, having still in mind the candidate 
whose support began at the primaries. At these con- 
ventions, also, are nominated presidential electors, two 
at large, and as many district electors as there are con- 
gressional districts. These electors must vote in the 
Electoral College for the candidate nominated by the 
national convention. (4.) National conventions are the 
real nominating bodies, and play a peculiar and very 
important part in our system. The man who can com- 
mand the most delegates is nominated by the party 
holding the convention. Nominations are generally 
made in June or early in July. (5.) The election occurs 
on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. 
At this time the electors are appointed theoretically, 
but really the President and Vice-President are elected. 
Not one man in a thousand pays any attention to when 

1 In Massachusetts the state convention chooses four delegates 
at large (and four alternates) to the national convention, and each 
congressional district convention chooses two delegates (and two 
alternates). 



198 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the Electoral College meets or what it does. (6.) The 
electors do not meet in a body, so that the name " Elec- 
toral College" is figurative. Those from each state 
meet together at the state Capitol and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice-President. Three ^ lists of all 
persons voted for, and the number of votes for each, are 
made, signed, certified, and sealed. One copy is mailed 
to the president of the Senate at Washington, one is 
sent to him by a special messenger, and one is delivered 
to the judge of the United States district court for 
the district in which the electors meet. (7.) On the 
second Wednesday in February the Senate and House 
have a joint session in the hall of the House, and the 
president of the Senate opens the certificates. They 
are then counted by tellers of the House, who read and 
count the vote. (8.) If no one receives a majority for 
President, the House proceeds to elect. If no one re- 
ceives a majority for Vice-President, the Senate elects. 

Reelection. At first the convention of 1787 thought 
that the term of the President should be seven years, and 
that he should not be reelected. The term was finally 
made four years, and nothing was said as to reelection. 
As far as the Constitution goes, a man may be reelected 
as many times as the people choose. What we have 
said about the unwritten constitution, however, shows 
the practice to be that a President may be reelected but 
once. 

War power of President. ^ The power of the Presi- 
. „ dent varies according^ to the needs of the case. 

Art. II., ... 

sec.iii., The Constitution is very specific that "he 
par . ^Y^^ii |-^j^g ^^j.Q ^j^g^i- ^i^Q laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted." In time of peace his power runs within well- 
defined limits. In time of war it increases to an enor- 

1 In some states the law requires a total of five copies. 

2 Bryce, i. 65, 66. 



THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 199 

mous extent, and he becomes practically a dictator. 
Especially was this true in the Civii War, when Lincoln 
made use of what were called the war powers of the 
Constitution. Even before Lincoln died, and during the 
administration of Andrew Johnson, the contest over 
Reconstruction was really a contest between the execu- 
tive and legislative branches of the government. The 
legislature was trying to reduce the power of the execu- 
tive to its normal condition. 

Eligibility and Salary. No foreign-born citizen can 
now be elected President. If such a one was a citizen 
at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, he was 
eligible. This provision was put in out of respect for 
Hamilton and others not born in America, but who had 
been of great service during the Revolution- ^^.^ jj 
ary War. Up to 1873 the salary of the Presi- ^^^-^-^ 
dent was ^25,000 a year; now it is ^50,000, a 
small sum compared with what European rulers receive. 
He, however, has no court, has a house furnished him 
and many expenses paid, so that the salary is really 
much more than ^50,000. 

Executive Departments.^ The President has large 
powers in time of war, because he is commander-in-chief 
of the army and navy, and of the militia when called into 
actual service of the United States. He has the power 
of granting pardons and reprieves, provided the offences 
are against federal laws. The same section that gives 
him these powers says that " he may require ^j.^ jj 
the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer ^^^- "•» 
in each of the executive departments, upon any 
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices." 
The Constitution seems to take it for granted that 
executive departments will be established, but nowhere 

1 Bryce, i. 86-96. 



200 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

specially gives any one the power to create them. All of 
the departments have been created by acts of Congress 
as they have been needed. The new government needed 
but four, and with only four advisers Washington began 
his administration. They were; Secretary of State, 
Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, and Attor- 
ney-General. At first the Secretary of War attended to 
all naval matters, but in 1798 the Secretary of the Navy 
was added. It would be interesting to discover why 
this department was added at this particular time. The 
Department of the Post Office was raised to the dignity 
of a Cabinet position by Jackson in 1829. The office 
itself seems to have existed from colonial times, when 
Franklin was made deputy postmaster-general for the 
continent. The Post Office, however, had been a Bu- 
reau of the Treasury Department since 1789. In 1849 
the Department of the Interior was formed, and in 1888 
that of Agriculture. There has been some discussion 
very recently about erecting the bureau of education 
into a separate department, and of creating a new de- 
partment of commerce. 

The Cabinet. The heads of these departments form 
what is called the President's Cabinet, although the 
word "cabinet" is not in the Constitution. They are 
entirely his servants, subordinate to him, and from him 
comes all their authority. They are independent of 
Congress, but cannot be members of either House or 
in any way control legislation. They are appointed by 
the President subject to the consent of the Senate. In 
practice, however, the Senate never refuses consent. 
Generally they are appointed because of their influence 
in the party and their services to the President in the 
election. Often the chief opponent to the nomination 
of the successful candidate is given the first place in the 



THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 201 

cabinet, — the department of state. Th§ members of the 
cabinet are almost invariably of the same party as the 
President. In the first cabinet it was not so. The idea 
still existed that the President and his administration 
would be above party and would administer affairs from 
a strictly national standpoint. Jefferson and Randolph 
were of one party and Hamilton and Knox of another. 
This naturally led to trouble, and it was not long before 
the system was changed. 

English and American Cabinets. The cabinet in 
America is in many ways different from the cabinet 
in England. They are, however, alike in this respect : 
they have both grown up wholly outside of the written 
law. In England, and France, too, the crown or president 
is obliged to choose his ministers from the majority 
in the House of Commons or Chamber of Deputies. 
The President of the United States is free to choose 
whom he will. In England the crown is irresponsible 
as to acts of government. The ministers of its choice 
are wholly responsible, and may be held to account by 
Parliament. If measures they propose and favor are 
defeated, they must retire from office or else appeal to 
the country ; that is, they must ask the people to vote 
for or against them. If defeated, they must resign. In 
the United States the President is wholly responsible 
and his cabinet entirely irresponsible. The President 
is not bound to consult his cabinet at all. The mem- 
bers of the cabinet cannot sit in Congress and vote 
upon any measure. Congress cannot call them to ac- 
count; and even if measures they most cordially indorse 
are defeated in Congress, that does not in any way 
affect their positions. If the party to which they be- 
long loses its majority in Congress, and both Houses, 
by large majorities, are hostile to the President and to 



202 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

them, they still hold office, if they so wish, until dis- 
missed by the President, or until the term of the Presi- 
dent is finished. 

Impeachment and Messages. The President, as we 
Art. II. have seen, may be removed from office by im- 
sec. IV. peachment. So may the Vice-President and 
any civil officer of the United States. The President, 
by his message, gives Congress information as to the 
Art. 11. state of the Union. The message is addressed 
sec. 111. hardly as much to Congress now as to the 
people of the United States ; it serves as a statement 
of the President's policy, and is often the basis of the 
campaign of the party in the succeeding election. 
Washington, who was inclined to pomp and ceremony, 
delivered his messages in state before both Houses ; so 
did President Adams. But Jefferson sent his message 
in writing to be read by the clerk. This method suited 
the democratic notions of the people, and the custom 
has come down to our times. 

Treaties. An important office that a President per- 
^ , „ forms is that of makino; treaties by and with 

Art. tl. ^ -^ 

sec. ii. the advice and consent of the Senate. Gen- 
erally, however, the action of the Senate is 
limited to consent.^ No treaty can be made unless 
ratified by two thirds of the senators present. 

Appointing Power. One of the greatest sources of 
strength which a President has, is his power of appoint- 
,^ ^^ ment. As the United States have grown and 

Art. XL , ^ 

sec. ii. the departments of the executive branch have 
^^^' ^' multiplied, the power that the President has 

acquired is enormous. The men who directly or indi- 

1 " An interesting exception was in the matter of the settlement 
of the Oregon question, when Polk threw the final proposals of Eng- 
land into the Senate and asked its advice. For the inside history 



THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 203 

rectly are subject to his appointment would make a 
great army. They are scattered in large numbers all 
over the United States. They form centres of political 
activity and influence either directly or indirectly.^ The 
evil which has arisen from the spoils system was, and 
is yet, very great. However, a growing public opinion 
against removal from office or appointment to office for 
purely political considerations has tended to lessen the 
evils connected with the appointing power of the Presi- 
dent. On the whole the tendency is more and more 
to increase the number of those who, according to civil 
service rules, are not subject to removal for political 
reasons. This is, however, one of the problems of our 
national government, and in this case, as in others, we 
may say that for the people " eternal vigilance is the 
price of liberty." 

SUMMARY 

The Constitution provides for a single executive, to be 
chosen every four years, and called the President of the 
United States. An indirect mode of election, by electors 
chosen by the voters in the several states, was provided for, 
but as things have turned out the people actually elect. The 
President is given very important powers, which vary in extent 
with circumstances. Custom, or the unwritten constitution, 
dictates that he may be reelected but once. 

of this interesting use of the Senate in making a treaty, see Polk's 
Diary for 1846, Lenox Library, New York." (Quoted from Joseph 
R. Wilson.) 

1 The appointing power is also a source of weakness, because it 
is impossible for a President to satisfy all demands. His use of 
this power creates or emphasizes faction in his party and makes 
bitter personal enemies. The best energies of the President are 
often given to the mere question of appointing to office, when they 
ought to be given to the important matters of his administration. 



204 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The President has a cabinet, whose members are the heads 
of the executive departments, are appointed by him, and are 
wholly responsible to him. The President is now always a 
leader of one of the political parties, and is nominated and 
elected as a party man. As such he also makes many ap- 
pointments to office. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY ^ 

Importance of the Judicial Department.^ A judicial 
system of equal range with the legislative and execu- 
tive departments is an absolute necessity. Laws are 
general in form and statement. It is taken for granted 
that all citizens will find out what the law on any sub- 
ject is, and govern themselves accordingly. There is 
no attempt — in fact it would be absurd to make the 
attempt — to prevent all the individuals of the nation or 
state from going counter to the law. The only practical 
way of proceeding is to take notice of cases where the 
law is believed to have been violated, or some one thinks 
himself injured by another's violation of the intent of 
some law. To illustrate : suppose there is a law in your 
state declaring it to be unlawful for any person to kill 
grouse during the year beginning October i, 1900. All 
persons are supposed to know the law. The theory is 
that "ignorance of the law excuses no man." But some 
sportsman kills grouse in spite of the law. Possibly no 
punishment overtakes him. The law does not put itself 
in motion. It is necessary that some one be interested 
in the execution of the law before it can act. If a com- 
plaint is sworn out against a man who violates it, he is 
brought to the court, declared to have acted contrary to 
the law, and punished ; otherwise not. 

* See Organization of the Courts, 1 789-1 793, Hart, Formation 
of the Union, pp. 145, 146. 
2 Bryce, i. 241. 



206 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Suppose again there is a law requiring division fences 
between fields owned by different proprietors, and sup- 
pose they are to be of a certain height and construc- 
tion. One owner keeps his fence up as required by law ; 
the other does not. The law does not execute itself 
upon the delinquent property owner, but if the adjoin- 
ing owner is injured on that account, he may bring suit 
against him for damages. The court will say what the 
fence law means, and determine whether or not it ap- 
plies to the case in hand, and also whether the law has 
been violated. If it has been, the suing owner has a 
good case. 

So it appears that every law must have an interpreter ; 
and a government without a system of courts coextensive 
with its law-making power is an anomaly. The states 
have such a system of courts. The great power of the 
state is shown in the fact that it has a complete judicial 
system independent of the national system. A suit may 
be brought first before a justice of the peace in a town- 
ship or other local unit. From this court it may for 
good reasons be appealed to the county or the circuit 
court. Under certain circumstances it may go from 
there to the supreme court of the state, but it rarely 
gets over from the state system to the national system 
of courts.^ 

The Constitution and the National Courts. As we 

have seen, the idea of a government of three depart- 

• 
1 The famous Dred Scott case was taken on appeal from the 
state courts of Missouri to the Federal Circuit Court. (See Wil- 
son, Division and Reunion^ pp. 197-199.) In general, if either party 
rests his case upon the Constitution, or some law of the United 
States, and the decision of the state court is against him, the case 
may be brought before the United States courts. Otherwise the 
state system is complete. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 20/ 

ments was thoroughly fixed in the minds of the Amer- 
icans. They had experienced the evils of a government 
of one department in the Confederation, where the gov- 
ernment was practically the Congress. One of its great 
defects was the lack of a judiciary and an executive. So 
when the Constitution was made to take the place of the 
Articles of Confederation, there was care exercised to 
provide for an effective executive department and also 
an effective judiciary. Mr. Madison, in writing about 
the work of the proposed convention in April, 1787, 
said : *' Let the national supremacy be extended also to 
the judiciary department." When the convention met, 
there was no difference of opinion on the question of 
having a judiciary, and it was soon determined to have 
a supreme court and such inferior ones as the Congress 
should see fit to establish. But there was a difference 
as to the way of appointing the judges. Some dele- 
gates wished Congress to have the power of appointing. 
Others argued that it would not do to place their ap- 
pointment in the hands of so large a body. Finally 
it was decided that "The judicial power of Art.iii. 
the United States shall be vested in one Su- ^^^''^' 
preme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress 
may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, 
both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold 
their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation which 
shall not be diminished during their continuance in 
office." By the preceding article of the Constitution, on 
the powers of the executive, the appointment of judges 
is placed in the hands of the President and the Senate. 

The clause quoted above contains all. that the Consti- 
tution has to say directly on the make-up of the national 
system of courts. It does not say how many judges the 



208 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Supreme Court shall have, what shall be their qualifi- 
cations, how many inferior courts shall be established, 
or what shall be the qualifications of their judges. It 
leaves all these matters to Congress. 

Classes of United States Courts.^ It will be seen 
that the Constitution provided in express terms for only 
one court, namely, a Supreme Court ; but it contem- 
plated the establishment of others by Congress. As the 
matter has worked out, there has been established a 
complete system of courts, with the Supreme Court of 
the United States at the head. Aside from a Court of 
Claims, a Court of Admiralty, and a Court for the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, which are special courts, the national 
system is as follows : — 

{a) The Supreme Court of the United States, with a 
chief justice and eight associate justices. 

{b) The Circuit Court of Appeals, presided over by a 
Supreme Court justice. 

{c) The Circuit Courts of the United States. There 
are nine circuits, one for each justice of the Supreme 
Court, who has general supervision of judicial business 
in the circuit, and is assisted by other judges. 

{d) The District Courts of the United States. There 
is at least one for each state, and some states have sev- 
eral, depending on the amount of business. 

Appointment, Tenure of Office and Salary. As has 
already been said, the judges of all national courts are 
appointed by the President with the consent of the Sen- 
ate. They are to hold office during good behavior, and 
their salary is not to be diminished during their con- 
Art. III. tinuance in office. The tenure of office makes 
^^^■^" a judge independent of the President, and the 

fact that the salary cannot be decreased during his term 

^ Bryce, i. ch. xxii. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 209 

makes him practically independent of Congress. This 
is necessary to secure an independent and fearless judi* 
ciary. It has been said that the judiciary of a nation is 
the weakest department, because it has neither power 
nor will, only judgment. The executive has power as 
head of the military forces ; the legislative department 
has power because it is in control of the finances of the 
country; but the judiciary has neither of these powers, 
it is wholly dependent for the carrying out of its decrees 
upon the executive arm of the government. For in- 
stance, no criminal can be judged by it unless first 
brought before the court by the executive ; and the 
judgment will go unexecuted unless carried out by the 
executive power. So the judiciary must be protected 
that it may remain independent both of the executive 
and of the legislative departments. For this reason the 
appointments are made for life, or during good behavior, 
and the salary is not to be diminished. 

Classes of Cases tried, in United States Courts. 
Section II. of Article III. deals first with the classes of 
cases that may be tried in the United States courts. 
There are ten classes, as follows : — 

1. All cases arising under the laws of the United 
States. This simply makes the judicial power of the 
United States coextensive with the law-making power, 
which is necessary, as we have seen above. If a man 
violates the law against counterfeiting United States 
money, he is tried in a court of the United States. So, 
too, if a man is injured by a corporation like a national 
bank, acting under a United States law, he sues in a 
United States court. 

2. All cases arising under the Constitution. The 
courts of the United States are the special guardians of 
the Constitution. Many things are by the Constitution 



2IO GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

prohibited to the states. If they disregard these prohi- 
bitions, the cases arising under them must be tried in 
the courts of the United States. 

3. All cases arising under treaties of the United 
States. The treaty-making power is exclusively a na- 
tional power. Hence, the trial of cases under treaties 
is reserved to the United States courts. 

4. All cases affecting ambassadors, other public min- 
isters, and consuls. These are representatives of for- 
eign powers. The United States is responsible to the 
foreign countries for their treatment. Therefore, it must 
have the right of judgment in cases affecting them, in- 
stead of giving that right to the state courts. 

5. All cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. 
The seas are the highways of nations. Upon them the 
commerce of the world is carried on. The rights of 
nations with respect to the seas are regulated partly by 
treaties and partly by the law of nations. The states 
have given up all power of dealing with foreign countries, 
and they cannot make treaties or claim rights under 
the law of nations. Cases relating to maritime affairs 
naturally, therefore, come to the United States courts. 

6. Controversies to which the United States shall be 
a party. In these cases, the dignity of the United 
States demands that trials shall be held in its own 
courts. 

7. Controversies between two or more states. One 
great difficulty under the Confederation was the lack of 
any effective method of settling the quarrels of the 
states.^ This tribunal provides such a method. All 
cases of that kind, it is provided, may come at once into 

^ There was a, method provided by the Articles of Confederation 
(see Art. IX.), but the states were not obliged to submit their dis- 
putes, and practically the plan amounted to nothing. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 211 

the Supreme Court of the United States. This makes 
the highest court in the land the judge in a quarrel be- 
tween states. In like manner, cases affecting ambassa- 
dors, etc., may come into this court at once. In all the 
other classes of cases, the Supreme Court has jurisdic- 
tion only when a case is appealed from a lower court 
of the United States. This illustrates what is spoken 
of in the Constitution as '^ original " and ** appellate " 
jurisdiction. 

8. Controversies between a state and citizens of an- 
other state.^ There are the same reasons for trying 
these cases in the United States courts as there are for 
the class above. Similar reasoning also applies to the 
next class, viz. : — 

9. Controversies between citizens of the same state 
claiming land under grants of different states. This 
would, or might, resolve itself into a controversy be- 
tween states. 

10. Lastly, controversies between a state, or the citi- 
zens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 
All questions involving relations with foreign states are 
proper subjects for the United States courts, and cannot 
be tried in the state courts. This we have seen in con- 
nection with classes 3, 4, and 5 above. 

1 By the Eleventh Amendment it is provided in substance that a 
state cannot be sued in any but its own courts. This amendment 
was rendered necessary, because the states refused to submit to 
being summoned as parties to suits before the courts of the United 
States. Massachusetts, in 1793, called a special session of her 
legislature, which instructed her representatives in Congress to pro- 
cure an amendment to the Constitution on this point. Chisholm 
vs. Georgia. (1792-93) was the first case in which the question of 
jurisdiction was argued. The Supreme Court was divided on it, but 
the majority decided that it had jurisdiction. Georgia refused to 
appear, and judgment was rendered against her. 



212 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Trial by Jury, and Treason. It is also provided in 
Section II. of Article III. that the trial of all crimes, 
except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury. This 
is carrying out an old principle of English law, which 
gives every man the right to a speedy and public trial 
by a jury of the neighborhood. The same thing is as- 
serted in the Sixth Amendment to the United States 
Constitution, and also in the Virginia Bill of Rights, 
(page 109). 

The last section of the Third Article defines treason, 
and declares how a man may be convicted of that crime. 
" Treason against the United States shall consist only 
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their ene- 
mies, giving them aid and comfort." Treason is gen- 
erally regarded as the blackest of all crimes, because a 
traitor strikes at the very foundation of society by at- 
tacking the state which holds society together. There- 
fore, terrible punishments have usually been inflicted 
upon convicted traitors in other countries. But the idea 
of treason is such an unsettling thing that persons 
charged with it have had the greatest difficulty in se- 
curing anything like a fair trial. There is always a dis- 
position to make out a case of treason if possible. So 
the wise men who made our Constitution thought well 
to carefully define treason in order to prevent abuses. 
And, for a further safeguard, they provided the method 
by which treason should be proved against a man. '^ No 
person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on con- 
fession in open court." Thus it becomes very hard to 
convict a man of treason, and this is well, for the fewer 
trials for treason in a country the safer and calmer does 
society remain. Our experience as a nation has shown 
the wisdom of this provision. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 213 

The punishment of treason is, by section iii., para- 
graph 2, left to be declared by Congress. But there 
shall not be, because of treason, any *' corruption of 
blood or forfeiture except during the life of the person 
attainted." Corruption of blood means that the heirs 
of the attainted person cannot inherit his property ; for- 
feiture thus becomes perpetual, i. e.y the property goes 
to the government (is forfeited), and remains in its 
hands for all time. 

The Supreme Court. ^ The Supreme Court of the 
United States is not only the highest court in the land, 
but has come to be regarded as one of the greatest courts 
in the world. Its members are always men who have 
gained a preeminent place in their profession ; they are 
usually advanced in years before appointment ; the ap- 
pointment, being by the President with the consent of 
the Senate, neither of whom can have control over the 
justice when once appointed, is always carefully made. 
None but men of the very highest character can, usu- 
ally, hope for such a place. 

This court has the last word to say on the constitu- 
tionality of all laws made by the Congress and President 
of the United States. It also has the duty of determin- 
ing whether the laws of the states are in harmony with 
the Constitution of the United States. Thus it may 
set aside the will of the people of the United States as 
well as the will of the people of any state. This seems 
like a dangerous power to lodge in the hands of any 
small body of men. But, as we have seen, the court 
simply judges ; it has no army and no power of com- 
manding the people's money. It could not become a 
tyrant if it would. Furthermore, the court has no in- 
terests which differ in the long run from those of the 

1 Bryce, i. 229, 230. 



214 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

people as a whole. It may well be that its calm, legal 
judgment will sometimes run contrary to the temporary 
desires and passions of the people of the nation or of 
certain states, but this is on the whole a good thing. 

There are many great names connected with the his- 
tory of the Supreme Court. Among them all, perhaps 
the greatest is that of Chief Justice Marshall, whose 
long service during the early years of the nineteenth 
century did so much to make the national government 
what it is to-day. 

SUMMARY 

The third department of government provided for by the 
Constitution is the judiciary. Laws made by the legislative 
department and executed by the executive department must 
be interpreted and applied by a judiciary coextensive with 
the other departments. The Constitution, therefore, provides 
generally for a system of federal courts. At its head is the 
Supreme Court of the United States, which has come to be 
regarded as one of the greatest courts in the world. Other 
federal courts are the Circuit Court of Appeals, the Circuit 
Court, and the District Court. The judges of all of these 
courts are appointed by the President, with the consent of the 
Senate. They hold office during good behavior, and receive 
a salary which cannot be diminished during their term of 
office. These provisions render the judiciary independent 
of both the legislative and the executive departments. 



CHAPTER XIX 

OTHER IMPORTANT PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION 

What Congress is forbidden to do. We have 
noted elsewhere that while Congress has great ^^^ j ^^^ 
powers, it is also forbidden to do many things, ^^-y p^^- 2- 
One of the most important of these is that it is forbid- 
den to suspend the privilege of the wril of habeas cor- 
pus except when in cases of rebellion or invasion public 
safety may require it. The writ of habeas corpus has 
to do with a right that has been jealously guarded for 
many centuries, and has always been looked upon as a 
bulwark of individual liberty. In early English times 
the king was often a tyrant. Without legal right to do 
so, and without warning, he seized freemen, imprisoned 
or outlawed or banished them, or took away their lands. 
Once in prison there was no way in which they could be 
liberated except at the king's will. So unbearable had 
this injustice become that the barons forced King John 
to declare specifically in Magna Charta (i2i5)that these 
things should not be done without due process of law. 

Very early, therefore, grew up the right of this writ. 
Habeas corpus means " have the body." If a person is 
held in confinement, and can show reason why he is 
unjustly held, a court or judge having the power may 
issue this writ. It is issued generally to the sheriff, 
who then has authority to bring the person from jail or 
prison before the judge or court. If unjustly held, he 
is liberated. 



2l6 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Export Duty and Appropriations. No tax or duty 
Art I sec ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^y Congress upon articles exported 
ix., par. 5. from any state.^ This provision is a limitation 
upon the power of Congress over commerce, which 
otherwise is nearly absolute. It was a concession to 
the states which many men like Washington and Mad- 
ison were at first not willing to make. To protect the 
states further from any possible discrimina- 
tion by Congress in favor of or against any of 
them, the same section forbids Congress to make any 
regulation of commerce or revenue in any way giving 
the ports of one state preference over those of another. 
Neither can Congress make any regulations requiring 
vessels bound to or from one state to enter, clear, or 
pay duties in another. Such provisions largely increased 
the freedom of trade between the states. 

In order that Congress, which provides for the raising 
of revenue by taxation, may control the outgo 
of it when once collected, no money can be 
drawn from the treasury except by an appropriation 
made by both houses. An account of moneys received 
and expended must also be published from time to 
time. 

What the States cannot do.^ The states are for- 
Art. I. sec. bidden to do many things which, if they were 
X., par. I. sovereign, they must have had the power to 
do. They cannot, for instance, coin money, emit bills 
of credit, make any law impairing the obligation of con- 
tracts, enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation, 
or grant letters of marque and reprisal. The Articles of 
Confederation provided that the states should not, with- 

1 The Constitution of the Confederate States allowed such a tax 
if voted by a two thirds' majority of Congress. 

2 Bryce, i. ch. xxviii. 



OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION 21/ 

out the consent of Congress, enter into any alliance 
with one of their own number or with a foreign state. 
In this respect the Constitution followed the Articles 
in the main.^ In fact, many provisions of the Constitu- 
tion were suggested by the Articles of Confederation. 

The Constitution not only gives to Congress full 
power over commerce, but it also forbids any ^j.^ j ^^^ 
state to lay, without the consent of Congress, ^^ p^^- ^• 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, "■ except 
what may be absolutely necessary for executing its 
inspection laws ; " and then Congress has the right to 
control and change these laws. The trouble that so 
nearly wrecked ^he United States under the Confeder- 
ation is, therefore, carefully guarded against. 

Rights and Duties of States. Article IV. of the 
Constitution has some very important provisions which 
guarantee uniformity among the several states, so that 
while the country is divided into many separate com- 
monwealths, yet it forms one comprehensive whole. 
There is no barrier, as in some countries, to the removal 
of a person from one part of the Union to another. 
He finds in his new home practically the same con- 
ditions of life as to politics, laws, and institutions. The 
citizens of each state are entitled to all the privileges 
and immunities of the state to which they move, but 
can carry none of the local privileges peculiar to the 
state from which they came. Yet they find that the 
rights of liberty, person, and property are carefully 
guarded wherever they may reside. All the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of each state, upon 
which the rights of citizens may depend, must be given 
full credit in any other state to which they may go. 

Return of Criminals. Each state is sovereign within 

1 See Articles of Confederation, Art. VI. 



2l8 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

its borders, and some provision was necessary in case of 
a criminal fleeing from the scene of his crime into an- 
other state. The Constitution makes it imperative that 
he shall be given up to the authorities of the state in 
which the crime was committed. Nations have a sim- 
ilar provision. In their case it is made by treaty, and 
the giving up of criminals is called extradition. These 
treaty provisions now govern most of the civilized 
nations. 

In connection with this section of the Constitution 
was a clause made famous because under it were en- 
acted the fugitive slave laws, that happily have long 
since passed away. 

Republican Form of Government. The United 
Art. IV. States is obliged to guarantee to every state a 
sec. iv. republican form of government, and the states 
are thus as nearly uniform as it is wise they should 
be. They are obliged to have this form of government ; 
any other is practically prohibited. It was under the 
provisions of this section, that the difficult work of 
reconstruction was undertaken at the close of the Civil 
War. Lincoln, and after him Johnson, undertook a 
method of reconstruction known as the Presidential 
Plan. The states lately in rebellion were to be re- 
ceived into the Union after having ratified the Thir- 
teenth Amendment and accepted the results of the war. 
This would have left the control of the right to vote 
in the hands of the states, as it was in the Constitution. 
Many of the leaders in Congress, however, had come 
to believe that in order to preserve the liberty of the 
black, he must have the ballot. The southern states 
would never have given it to him of their own accord. 
It therefore had to be done by the national government 
before the states previously in rebellion were allowed 



OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION 219 

to come back into the Union. It was necessary that 
the states in question be made to agree to his having 
the ballot before they would be allowed to send repre- 
sentatives to Congress. It seemed to the leaders in 
Congress that in this way only could the United States 
guarantee to the states a republican form of govern- 
ment. At the same time they had selfish ends in view, 
and whether their method of reconstruction has proved 
wise has been questioned by many people. It was a 
very difficult problem, about which the Constitution 
could give no special help. The passions of men were 
greatly aroused, and under these circumstances they 
could hardly act with cool judgment. At any rate, in the 
struggle between the President and Congress, Congress 
won, and the result was the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 
Amendments. A later effect is the new state constitu- 
tions in the South, which largely take away the negro's 
right to vote. 

The Territorial System of the United States.^ Eng- 
land, as we all know, has had for many years, and still 
has, colonies in various parts of the world. France and 
other European countries have colonies. We seldom 
think, however, that the United States has been one of 
the greatest colonizing nations in the world. The move- 
ment of population from England to America did not 
cease when the thirteen colonies were formed. The 
movement from England and Europe to America is still 
going on, and in the United States itself a like move- 
ment has covered this part of the continent with people 
who are mainly English. Indeed, this march of popu- 
lation in our country has not ceased yet, although it has 
crossed the continent. It is spreading into the islands 
of the Pacific and of the West Indies. The way in 

1 Bryce, i. ch. xlvii. 



220 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

which this movement proceeded has always been in 
reality that of sending out colonies. These have grown 
into communities of large size, with many independent 
powers of government, and finally into independent 
states. Thus Massachusetts and Virginia were colonies 
of England that grew up into distinct, and in some ways 
radically different, communities, and finally developed 
into states. So the Western Reserve in Ohio and the 
Wyoming country in Pennsylvania were colonies of Con- 
necticut ; so was Kentucky a colony of Virginia. In a 
much less distinct way Kansas is connected with New 
England, and Nebraska with New York, and Oregon 
with Missouri and Tennessee. 

Relation of Colonies to the United States. As the 
colonies grew in number and importance it was certain 
to become a question what their relation to the mother 
state or country would be. If England had been able 
or willing to take the American colonies into the empire 
on an equal footing with England herself, she might 
never have lost them. Evidently this question was 
going to be a very important one in the United States 
with a very small population and, especially after 1803, 
an enormous unoccupied territory. 

There was a difficulty here. England was a single 
country. The United States were thirteen separate 
states, each sending out colonies. Should the Western 
Reserve always be a colony subject to Connecticut ; 
should Kansas be under the control of New England ? 
Evidently not ; for this would bring endless trouble and 
danger. This was the very danger which the states' 
were trying to avoid when they gave up to the central 
government their claims to western lands, before the 
Articles of Confederation were adopted. This giving 
up of the territory by the states meant that the nation 



OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION 221 

as a whole should deal with the colonies, and for the 
government of those in the Northwest Territory the 
Ordinance of 1787 was passed. 

This was the condition of things when the new Con- 
stitution went into effect. The new government in 
turn had to decide how it would deal with the question 
of colonies. It followed very closely the Ordinance of 
1787. Indeed, the first Congress under the Constitu- 
tion reenacted the ordinance, and upon it as a model 
the government has based its action in regard to new 
territory. When a colony has grown into a community 
of five thousand people or more, a territorial govern- 
ment is formed by Congress, and the colony becomes a 
territory. It has now many of the rights of local self- 
government, but its governors and judges are always 
appointed under authority of Congress. It cannot, as 
a territory, take any part in national affairs, nor can its 
representatives vote in Congress. In fact, it is in much 
the same condition as many of the American colonies 
before the Revolution. 

Admission of States. As the colony, now a terri- 
tory, still increases, and the population reaches Art. iv. 
a sufficient number, the people of the territory ^^^' "^" 
petition Congress for permission to draw up a state 
constitution and be admitted into the Union. If Con- 
gress sees fit to do so, it passes an " Enabling Act," 
which means that the people of the territory may draw 
up a state constitution. A convention is held for that 
purpose, and, when drawn up, the constitution is pre- 
sented to Congress. If it approves, it passes an act 
admitting the territory into the Union as a state. This 
is the usual way, but in the case of many states the 
method of procedure has varied. 

Was it fair that the new state should have all the 



222 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

powers and privileges of states that for many years had 
been members of the Union ? The universal practice 
of nations had been not to grant equal powers and privi- 
leges. But, warned by their experience with England, 
the United States early decided upon a new plan of 
dealing with colonies when they grew into states. It 
was determined that when of sufficient size and advance- 
ment they should be admitted as states into the Union, 
with all of the powers, privileges, and immunities of any 
state. This decision has had far-reaching results, and 
makes the United States different from any other na- 
tion. The addition of states thus far has only increased 
the power of the United States. It has enormously 
extended the influence of the national government and 
strengthened the ties that make us one people. What 
will be the relation to the United States of territory 
acquired outside of the bounds of the continent has yet 
to be worked out in detail. A recent decision of the 
Supreme Court of the United States has laid down the 
principle that the Constitution does not follow the flag ; 
that the United States may hold, subject to the power 
of Congress, its newly acquired possessions as terri- 
tories. 

Araendnients, Experience under the Confederation 
had shown that it was very unwise to make it practi- 
cally impossible to amend the new Constitution. It 
was therefore decided that when two thirds of both 
Houses of Congress should think it necessary, Congress 
should propose amendments ; or when the leg- 
islatures of two thirds of the states asked to 
have it done. Congress should call a convention for 
proposing amendments to the Constitution. In case 
these amendments were ratified by the legislatures of 
three fourths of the states, or by conventions in three 



OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION 223 

fourths of them, they should then become as binding as 
the Constitution, and indeed a part of it. The method 
first tried was that of the proposal by Congress, and 
the ratification by state legislatures, and no other plan 
has ever been attempted. There is now one restriction 
on amendments. No state can be deprived of its equal 
representation in the Senate without its consent. 

Bill of Rights. As we have seen, there was great 
opposition to the ratification of the Constitution, be- 
cause there was nothing in it protecting the Amend- 
rights of the people that were looked upon as xf'inciu-*^ 
fundamental. Such were the rights of per- ^ive. 
sonal liberty, of free speech and a free press, and 
others. The ratification was carried through in many 
states by a virtual pledge that amendments covering 
these points would be agreed to. Madison made it his 
business in the first Congress to see that these amend- 
ments were proposed. Congress proposed twelve, copy- 
ing largely after those of Massachusetts and Virginia. 
Only ten were ratified by the people, and these are the 
first ten amendments to the Constitution. 

Because of their resembling the English and Virginia 
Bills of Rights, they are often called the Bill of Rights 
of the Constitution. After some discussion, it was 
decided not to incorporate them in the original docu- 
ment, but to place them at the end as a supplement. 

Fifteen amendments in all have been made. The first 
ten were ratified so early as to be practically a part 
of the original Constitution. Only five, then, have 
been made in the course of one hundred and ten years, 
and three of those were brought about by the stress of 
a great war. The Constitution has proved very stable 
in its written form, and the difficulty in amending it 
amounts to an impossibility, except in case of danger or 



224 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

grievous need. The Constitution is by its own express 
provision the supreme law of the land, and under it the 
United States have grown mightily in numbers, power, 
and wealth. It has proved a marvelous instrument, 
and it will be many years before the world will cease to 
owe a heavy debt to the wise and patriotic men who 
made it. 



SUMMARY 

Aside from providing a frame of government with legis- 
lative, executive, and judicial departments, the Constitution 
contains a number of special provisions. Among these are 
several which specifically limit the power of Congress, and 
others that specifically limit the power of the states. There 
are clauses which guarantee to the states a republican form 
of government ; and still others which give to the national 
government power over territories. Finally, it provides defi- 
nite methods of securing its own amendment. 



SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS 

1. Give exact definitions of state, of nation^ and of confederation. 
Explain the differences between them. 

2. Why was it so difficult to adjust the relations of the states and 
the national government in the Constitution ? 

3. Who was John Locke; what episode of Enghsh history was 
he connected with; and how did his ideas of government come to 
influence the ideas of the framers of the Constitution ? 

4. Why is a government of three departments desirable ; in what 
respects is it less effective than one of a single department? 

5. What advantage would a one-chambered legislature have over 
one of two chambers ? 

6. Which of the three great compromises of the Constitution was 
most fundamental, and why ? 

7. The makers of the Constitution have at various times been 
charged with compromising moral principles, especially with regard 



OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION 22$ 

to the slave-trade. Is the charge well founded? Was slavery a 
moral question with the American people as a whole in 1787? 

8. Who are persons bound to service for a period of years, and 
what great evils were connected with such service during colonial 
times? See Channing's Students' History of the United States^ 
p. (^ ; or Fiske's School History ^ p. 71. 

9. What connection is there between our method of originating 
revenue bills (by the House of Representatives) and the early English 
custom of voting supplies for the king? See Introduction, pages 10 
to 12. 

10. Why did the Constitution distinguish between the " most 
numerous branch " and the least numerous branch of the state 
legislatures in specifying the qualifications for electors of repre- 
sentatives ? 

11. What is the significance of the term " Czar " as applied to a 
recent speaker of the House of Representatives ? 

12. Give arguments for and against the advisability of giving the 
President the power of vetoing bills, as the Constitution does. 

13. Mention some "post roads" within your state. Were they 
built by authority of Congress ? If not, why are they called post 
roads ? 

14. What were the "Alien and Sedition " laws, and how was the 
power of passing naturalization laws involved in them ? See Chan- 
ning's Students' History^ pp. 306-308. 

15. What is the argument in favor of granting patents and copy- 
rights ? Are there any arguments against it ? 

16. Are all Americans forbidden to receive titles from foreign 
sovereigns? Select the parts of the Constitution bearing on this 
question ; also give examples, if possible, to verify your answer. 

17. What is the nature of "civil service reform?" See Bryce, 
ii. 609. 

18. Is it possible for a person to be elected to the presidency with 
less than a majority of the popular vote in his favor ? Explain. 

19. Might the President, if he chose to do so, make the Vice- 
President a member of his cabinet ? 

20. " One verb in the Constitution having been written in the 
passive instead of the active voice made necessary the Electoral 
Commission to settle the Hayes-Tilden controversy. Find the 
word and explain." (Quoted from S. Y. Gillan.) 

21. Why is not Washington regarded as a traitor by the British ? 

22. Make a list of the chief justices of the Supreme Court. How 
does it compare in length with the list of Presidents ? 



226 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

23. How did the Eleventh Amendment affect the question of 
whether or not the states were regarded as sovereign powers ? See 
Bryce, i. 235. 

24. How was the Dartmouth College Case connected with the 
question of state sovereignty ? 

25. Why did the Confederate Constitution allow an export tax ? 

26. Find how much time elapsed between the proposal of each 
of the last five amendments to the Constitution and its proclama- 
tion by the President as a part of the instrument. What inference ? 

27. Compare sec. i. of the Thirteenth Amendment with Article 
VI. of the Ordinance of 1787. See copy of the Ordinance in 
Larned, History for Ready Reference. 

28. Compare and contrast the American system of colonization 
with the systems of the Greeks, the Romans, and the English. 

29. Compare and contrast the American policy of naturalization 
•with that of the Greeks, the Romans, and the English. 

30. Do banks chartered by the states have the right to issue 
bank notes? Consider in this connection Art I., sec. x., para- 
graph T, of the Constitution. 

31. Explain, by reference to the Constitution, how there can be 
an " interstate commerce " law and an '* interstate commerce com- 
mission." 

32. What clauses of the Constitution had a bearing on the pur- 
chase of Louisiana, on the acquisition of Texas, on the acquisition 
of the Philippines ? 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Preamble. 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain 
and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

Article I. Legislative Department. 

Section I. Congress in General. 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

Section 11. House of Representatives. 

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and 
the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for 
electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have at- 
tained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citi- 
zen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an 
inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several States which may be included within this Union, ac- 
cording to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound 
to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be 
made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of 
the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Repre- 



228 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
State shall have at least one Representative ; and until such enume- 
ration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled 
to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence 
Platttations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, 
Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, 
North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 
the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill 
such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and 
other oificers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section III. Senate. 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
3enators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six 
years; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of 
the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into 
three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year ; of the second class, 
at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every 
second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise 
during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to 
the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a Presi- 
'dent pro teinpore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he 
shall exercise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside : and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two thirds of the members present. 



THE CONSTITUTION 229 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States ; but 
the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to in- 
dictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section IV. Both Houses. 

1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Sena- 
tors and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the 
legislature thereof; but the Congress may at anytime bylaw make 
or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Sen- 
ators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section V. The Houses Separately. 

1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con- 
stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance 
of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as 
each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun- 
ish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence 
of two thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their 
judgment require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either house on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without 
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section VI. Privileges and Disabilities of Members. 

I. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out of 
the Treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases except 
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, 



230 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any speech 
or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil ofBce under the authority 
of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
ments whereof shall have been increased during such time ; and no 
person holding any office under the United States shall be a mem- 
ber of either house during his continuance in office. 

Section VII. Mode of Passing Laws. 

1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amend- 
ments as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representa- 
tives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to 
the President of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, 
but if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large 
on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsid- 
eration two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall 
be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which 
it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of 
that house it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of 
both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on 
the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be re- 
turned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after 
it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like 
manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjourn- 
ment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except 
on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President 
of the United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall 
be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed 
by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, accord- 
ing to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 



THE CONSTITUTION 231 

Section VIII. Powers granted to Congress. 
The Congress shall have power : 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay 
the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare 
of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States ; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures ; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States ; 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing 
for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoveries ; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas and offenses against the law of nations ; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water ; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money 
to that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces ; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of 
the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the mili- 
tia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the 
appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia 
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of 
particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like author- 



232 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

ity over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, maga- 
zines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings ; and 

1 8. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof.! 

Section IX. Powers denied to the United States. 

1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be pro- 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such im- 
portation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in pro- 
portion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be 
taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another ; nor 
shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement 
and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money 
shall be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and 
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, 
without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolu- 
ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, 
or foreign State. 

Section X. Powers denied to the States. 

I. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of 

1 This is the Elastic Clause in the interpretation of which arose the original and 
fundamental division of political parties. See above, p. 269. 



THE CONSTITUTION 233 

credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment 
of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law im- 
pairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be abso- 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the net pro- 
duce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or 
exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United States; 
and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State or with a for- 
eign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded or in such 
imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

Article II. Executive Department. 

Section I. President and Vice-President. 

1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term 
of four years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the 
same term, be elected as follows : 

2. Each State shaU appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole num- 
ber of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be en- 
titled in the Congress ; but no Senator or Representative, or person 
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an elector. 

3. [The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by 
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab- 
itant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a 
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for 
each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the 
President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the 
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person hav- 
ing the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such num- 
ber be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if 
there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal 



234 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immedi- 
ately choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no person 
have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said 
House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing 
the President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation 
from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and 
a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every 
case, after the choice of the President, the person having the great- 
est number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. 
But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.]^ 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors 
and the day on which they shaU give their votes, which day shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall 
be eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any person be 
eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and 
the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, 
resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, 
declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer 
shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or a President 
shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished dur- 
ing the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall 
not receive within that period any other emolument from the United 
States or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfuUy execute the 
office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my 
ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United 
States." 

1 This clause of the Constitution has been amended. See Amendments, Art. 

xn. 



THE CONSTITUTION 235 

Section II. Powers of the President. 

1. The President shall be Commander-in-chief of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may 
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of 
the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant re- 
prieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators 
present concur ; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the ad- 
vice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other 
.public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all 
other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in 
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

.3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commis- 
sions which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section III. Duties of the President. 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of 
the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, 
and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time 
of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; 
he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall 
commission all the officers of the United States. 

Section IV. Impeachment. 

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United 
States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and con- 
viction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemean- 
ors. 



236 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Article III. Judicial Department. 

Section /. United States Courts. 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a 
compensation which shall not be diminished during their continu- 
ance in office. 

Section II. Jurisdiction of the United States Courts. 

1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their 
authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public minis- 
ters, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdic- 
tion; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; 
to controversies between two or more States ; between a State and 
citizens of another State ; between citizens of different States ; be- 
tween citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and 
foreign States, citizens, or subjects.^ 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme 
Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases be- 
fore mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdic- 
tion, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such 
regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 
be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the 
said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the 
Congress may by law have directed. 

Section III. Treason. 

I. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy- 
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless 
1 This clause has been amended. See Amendments, Art. XI. 



THE CONSTITUTION 237 

on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on con- 
fession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood 
or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 

Article IV. — The States and the Federal Govern 

MENT. 

Section I. State Records. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 

acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 

the Congress may b}'- general laws prescribe the manner in which 

such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 

thereof. 

Section II. Privileges of Citizens^ etc. 

1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, 
shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having juris- 
diction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, 
but shaU be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such ser- 
vice or labor may be due.^ 

Section III. New States and Territories. 

1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction 
of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of 
two or more States or parts of States, without the consent of the 
legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make aU 
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this Con- 
stitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 
United States or of any particular State. 

1 This clause has been canceled by Amendment XIII., which abolishes slavery. 



238 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Section IV. Guarantee to the States. 
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion, and on application of the legislature, or of the 
executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against do- 
mestic violence. 

Article V. Power of Amendment. 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem 
it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, 
on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several 
States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in 
either case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this 
Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of 
the several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as 
the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the 
Congress, provided that no amendment which may be made prior 
to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of 
the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be 
deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

Article VI. Public Debt, Supremacy of the Constitu- 
tion, Oath of Office, Religious Test. 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before 
the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the 
United States under this Constitution as under the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or 
which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every 
State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws 
of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial officers both of the United States and of the several States, 
shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; 
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
office or public trust under the United States. 



THE CONSTITUTION 239 

Article VII. Ratification of the Constitution. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be suf- 
ficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States 
so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States 
present,^ the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. 
In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

George Washington, President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicholas Oilman. 

Massachusetts — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 

Connecticut — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey — WiUiam Livingston, David Brearly, William Pat- 
terson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert 
Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaware — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickin- 
son, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, 
Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina — WilHam Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
Hugh Williamson. 

South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 

Georgia — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest : William Jackson, Secretary, 

1 Rhode Island sent no delegates to the Federal Convention. 



240 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 



AMENDMENTS.^ 

Article I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re- 
ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the 
freedom of speech or of the press ; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a re- 
dress of grievances. 

Article II, 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

Article III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a man- 
ner to be prescribed by law. 

Article IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon prob- 
able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger ; 
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice 
put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shaU be compelled in any 
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall 
private property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Article VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and 

1 Amendments I. to X. were proposed by Congress, Sept. 25, 1789, and de- 
clared in force Dec. 15, 1791. 



AMENDMENTS 241 

district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which dis- 
trict shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be in- 
formed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted 
with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for 
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any 
court of the United States, than according to the rules of the com- 
mon law. 

Article VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively or to the people. 

Article XI.i 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or 
by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 

Article XII.2 

I. The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they 

1 Proposed by Congress March 5, 1794, and declared in force Jan. 8, 1798. 

2 Proposed by Congress Dec. 12, 1803, and declared in force Sept. 25, 1804. 



242 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and 
of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which lists they shall sign and certify, and trans- 
mit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, 
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be 
counted. Thfe person having the greatest number of votes for 
President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers 
not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the 
* House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the 
President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 
shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall 
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, 
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-Pres- 
ident shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate 
shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a ma- 
jority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of Pres- 
ident shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United 
States. 

Article XIH.^ 

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punish- 
ment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their 
jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- 
priate legislation. 

1 Proposed by Congress Feb. i, 1865, and declared in force Dec. 18, 1865. 



AMENDMENTS 243 

Article XIV.^ 

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and sub- 
ject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or en- 
force any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of 
citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any per- 
son of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor 
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of 
the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when 
the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
President and Vice-President of the United States, Representa- 
tives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or 
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citi- 
zens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for par- 
ticipation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of 
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
twenty-one years of age in such State. 

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil 
or military, under the United States or under any State, who, hav- 
ing previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an 
officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legisla- 
ture, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support 
the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insur- 
rection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to 
the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two thirds 
of each house, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, author- 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall 
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insur- 
rection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the 
loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, 
and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

1 Proposed by Congress June 16, 1866, and declared in force July 28, 1868. 



244 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

Article XV.^ 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on ac- 
count of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 



APPENDIX B. 

THE STATES CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO ORIGIN. 

1. The thirteen original states. 

2. States formed directly from other states : 

Vermont from territory disputed between New York and 
New Hampshire; Kentucky from Virginia; Maine from 
Massachusetts ; West Virginia from Virginia. 

3. States from the Northwest Territory : 

Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, 

Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, in part 

4. States from other territory ceded by states : 

Tennessee, ceded by North Carolina, 

Alabama, ceded by South Carolina and Georgia, 

Mississippi, ceded by South Carolina and Georgia. 

5. States from the Louisiana purchase : 

Louisiana, Nebraska, Montana, 

Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, in part, 

Missouri, North Dakota, Wyoming, in part, 

Kansas, South Dakota, Colorado, in part. 

6. States from Mexican cessions : 

California, Utah, Wyoming, in part, 

Nevada, Colorado, in part. 

7. States from territory defined by treaty with Great Britain : 

Oregon, Washington, Idaho. 

8. States from other sources : 

Florida, from a Spanish cession, 
Texas, by annexation. 
* Proposed by Congress Feb. 26, 1869, and declared in force March 30, 1870^ 



THE GROWTH OF CIVIL GOVERN- 
MENT IN OREGON 



«*. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 

American Boundaries in 1783. In order to get 
clearly in mind the facts connected with the early his- 
tory of Oregon, it will be necessary to go back to the 
time when our nation began to acquire territory. We 
have seen that by the treaty with Great Britain in 1783 
the United States secured the Mississippi as its western 
boundary. At that time all west of the Alleghanies was 
a wilderness, occupied by wild beasts and savage men. 
Only two small areas between the mountains and the 
Great River were held by white settlers. These were 
in what is now Kentucky, where Daniel Boone and his 
company settled shortly before the outbreak of the Revo- 
lution ; and in eastern Tennessee, where people from 
North Carolina had established themselves about the 
same time. Men were only beginning to think of set- 
tling in the Ohio country. As for the great regions 
west of the Mississippi, they were practically unknown 
except for the tales of an occasional trapper or trader, 
whose wanderings led him far beyond the borders of 
civilization, among the distant Indian tribes. 

All the country between the Mississippi and the 
Rocky Mountains had once belonged to France, because 
as far back as 1682 the great French explorer. La Salle, 
had passed down the river to its mouth, and had taken 
possession of all the territory drained by it and its 
branches in the name of Louis the Fourteenth. Of 
course the land to the eastward, as far as the Alleghany 



248 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Mountains, was included in this claim. Thus this coun- 
try, which was called Louisiana, in honor of the French 
king, embraced the whole region between the crest of 
the Rockies and the crest of the Alleghanies. 

In 1754 a war broke out between the English, who 
wanted the Ohio country for purposes of colonization, 
and the French, who claimed it as their own. The 
French were at first successful, defeating the army of 
Braddock and building a fort at the point where the 
Alleghany and Monongahela rivers join to form the 
Ohio.^ This spot has often been called " the gateway 
of the West." But at last General Wolfe captured the 
strong fortress of Quebec, and the French were forced 
to yield. In the treaty of 1 763, called the Treaty of 
Paris, because the negotiations were carried on at the 
French capital, France gave up all territory east of the 
Mississippi to the English. At the same time the coun- 
try west of the river was given over to Spain. 

This remained the condition of things until the Revo- 
lutionary WaF closed. Then the territory east of the 
Mississippi was ceded by Great Britain to the United 
States. 

The Louisiana Purchase. The country west of the 
Mississippi had monopolized the name Louisiana since 
the treaty of 1763. Now, during the time that Napo- 
leon had control of France, he got the government of 
Spain to give back Louisiana to France, because at that 
time he had some idea of beginning a colony in that 
country. But a little later, in 1803, having given up his 
notion of planting colonies there, Napoleon sold the 
whole vast region to our government for $15,000,000. 

1 This is the war in which George Washington won his first 
honors as a military leader. His presence of mind and skilful 
generalship saved the remnant of Braddock's army in the famous 
but ill-starred expedition of 1755. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 249 

The Lewis and Clark Expedition. The President 
who secured this magnificent domain to the United 
States was Thomas Jefferson. He had been interested 
in learning about this country as early as 1783, when 
he had asked George Rogers Clark, the famous Indian 
fighter, how he would like to lead a party to explore it. 
Nothing was done at the time, but when the Louisiana 
purchase was made, President Jefferson sent out an 
exploring party under Meriwether Lewis and William 
Clark (brother of George Rogers Clark). The party set 
out in 1804. They passed up the Missouri River to its 
source, and then crossed over to the head of the Colum- 
bia. This river they explored to its mouth, reaching 
the Pacific on the 7th of November, 1805.^ 

The Oregon Question.^ The exploration of the 
Columbia gave the people of the Ufiited States a great 
interest in the Pacific Northwest, and also strengthened 
the claim of our nation to the Oregon territory. But it 
was not the beginning of that claim. In 1792 (May 11) 
Captain Robert Gray of Boston sailed across the bar of 
the great river of Oregon and passed thirty miles up the 
stream. His ship was the Columbia. This name he 
bestowed upon the beautiful river which he was the first 
to enter ; and by that act we secured as valid a claim 
to the Columbia basin as France had to Louisiana on 
account of the exploration of La Salle. 

At this time several European nations had claims 
to the Pacific coast. These were : first, Spain, which 
claimed the entire coast by virtue of the Pope's bull of 

1 " The Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Expo- 
sition " will be held at Portland, Oregon, in the year 1905, to cele- 
brate this event. 

2 See on the Oregon question, Joseph R. Wilson, in Quarterly 
of the Oregon Historical Society^ June and September, 1900. 



250 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

1493, giving her all the land to the west of the " Line of 
Demarcation " ; second, Great Britain, whose navigators 
had explored portions of the coast, and whose merchants 
were beginning to set up trading posts at various places ; ^ 
third, Russia, who soon began to put forth claims to 
great sections of the country. 

Settling the Claims. Two of these claims, those of 
Spain and Russia, were quickly disposed of. In 18 19 
the United States made a treaty with Spain by which 
she gave up to this country all her claims to the Pacific 
coast north of the parallel of forty-two degrees.^ This 
finally shut Spain out from the Oregon country and 
gave us one more claim to it. 

In 1824 the United States entered into an agreement 
with Russia by which that country gave up all claim to 
the Pacific coast south of fifty-four degrees forty min- 
utes. This left a stretch of coast more than twelve and 
a half degrees in extent, which was wholly clear of Euro- 
pean claims with the exception of those of Great Britain ; 
but these, as it proved, were much harder to get rid of 
than those of Russia and Spain had been. 

In 18 18 an agreement was made between the United 
States and Great Britain which left the country open to 
both nations for the period of ten years. As yet there 
was no thought of any other occupation than that by 
traders. The region of the Columbia and the Willa- 
mette was rich in fur-bearing animals such as the bea- 
ver. It was by capturing these, and exchanging with 
the traders whose vessels touched at the coast, that the 

1 Captain Vancouver entered the Columbia October 19, 1792, 
only a few months after Gray visited and named the river. 

2 In the treaty with Spain, made In 18 19, the United States {a) 
gave up claim to Texas, and {b) paid Spain the sum of $5,500,000. 
Spain (a) gave up claim to Oregon, and {b) ceded Florida. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 25 1 

Indians of the Pacific first came in contact with the 
civilization of white men. 

This trade was so profitable that the great fur com- 
panies, both English and American, planned to get 
control of it. John Jacob Astor, as early as 181 1, had 
a 'station at the mouth of the Columbia which was and 
is called Astoria. His plan was to connect the Colum- 
bia valley with the Mississippi by means of a chain of 
trading posts. All furs secured west of the Rockies 
were to be taken to Astoria. Thence his ships were 
to carry them to China and the far East, to be ex- 
changed for silks and tea and other valuable goods ; 
these in turn were to be sold in the markets of the 
Atlantic coast. But Astor met with great losses ; the 
war of 1 8 12 came and a British warship took possession 
of Astoria. Some time after the war it was given back 
to the Americans, but it never again became a great 
fur-trading station. 

The Hudson's Bay Company. There was an Eng- 
lish fur company whose early territory was in northern 
Canada, along the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay, 
and for this reason it took the name of Hudson's Bay 
Company. It had long traded through the region of 
the Great Lakes in Canada, and along the Red River 
of the North. During the early part of the nineteenth 
century it extended its operations westward, and in 
1 82 1 secured almost complete control of the fur trade 
in the Oregon country. Three years later (1824) Dr. 
John McLoughlin, the company's agent, established 
Fort Vancouver on the Columbia, opposite the mouth 
of the Willamette, as the headquarters for this trade. 

Vancouver was a noted place in the early history of 
Oregon. It was the metropolis and capital of a vast 
woodland empire. Out of its gates went forth each 



252 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

spring the trapper and the trader, whose duty it was to 
penetrate the forest and ascend to the sources of the 
rivers in quest of beaver skins and Indian trade. To 
it they returned in the fall with their harvest of furs, 
and wonderful stories of wild life among the savages of 
the Rockies and the Cascades. ' 

Here ** for a quarter of a century Dr. John McLough- 
lin ruled with the sceptre of a czar the vast territory 
from Alaska to California and from the Rocky Moun- 
tains to the ocean." ^ His influence over the Indian 
tribes was supreme. No rival trader had the slightest 
chance of success against him and his well-trained 
agents. But he was more than a mere trader. The 
kindness shown by him to missionaries, speculators, 
colonists, and in fact all who chanced to come into the 
country and had need of any kindness, greatly endeared 
Dr. McLoughlin to the early settlers, who delight to 
honor him as the " Father of Oregon." 

The Coraing of the Pioneers. But the reign of Mc- 
Loughlin and the Hudson's Bay Company was destined 
to come to an end much sooner than most men thought. 
When a country is wanted for the making of farms and 
homes, the Indian trader and the trapper find their oc- 
cupation gone. Theirs is a temporary business. And 
yet in the history of our country it has been a most im- 
portant business ; for, as one historian says, " the Indian 
trade pioneered the way for civilization." ^ From the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, as the white population moved 
into the wilderness, over the mountains and across the 
plains, they were guided by the trader in trinkets and 

1 Eva Emery Dye, McLoughlin and Old Oregon, p. i^. 

^ Frederick J. Turner, *' The Significance of the Frontier in 
American History," Proceedings of the State Historical Society of 
Wisconsin, 1893, p. 91. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 253 

furs, who had been some years in advance of the rest. 
But when a country became settled, these people, with 
the Indians who were their customers, moved on toward 
the setting sun. 

In Oregon, 'as everywhere else in America, the real 
development of the country began when the fur-trader 
was forced to give way to the farmer. " Our expansion 
to the Pacific is a tale of pioneering." ^ The building 
of a great state on this coast became possible when the 
pioneer farmers began to come each year with their 
trains of wagons, their cattle, and their plows. It was 
a wonderful movement, full of meaning for the future 
of the United States, and even for the whole world. 
Happily it is not yet too late to study it at first hand 
from the accounts of the pioneers themselves. Every 
Oregon schoolboy and schoolgirl should make the best 
use of this opportunity while the pioneers remain with 
us, for the time will come when the importance of any 
knowledge gained in this way will seem very great. 

Oregon saved to the United States. In the first 
place, the coming of the pioneers saved Oregon to the 
United States, or at least made it impossible for this 
country to lose the territory to Great Britain. The 
treaty of 18 18 giving the British and the Americans joint 
occupation of the country came to an end in 1828. 
Then the agreement was renewed ; but at the close of 
another period of ten years the boundary question was 
not yet settled, and in fact it was becoming a more and 
more difficult problem to settle it. The United States 
government was negotiating with the British govern- 
ment, and for a while tried to make our northern bound- 

1 F. G. Young, " Introduction to Correspondence and Journals of 
Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth," Sources of Oregon History, vol. i. 
parts iii., iv. 



254 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

ary the parallel of fifty-four degrees forty minutes, 
which was the southern boundary of the Russian claims. 
But the British government wished to make the Colum- 
bia River the boundary between the two nations. They 
could not agree, and were not willing to go to war over 
the matter ; so the negotiations dragged on year after 
year. 

Meantime the pioneers began to come into the coun- 
try. On the frontiers of Missouri, and in the other 
Mississippi states, the hardy settlers learned of the 
great country on the Columbia, where the soil was fer- 
tile, the climate mild, and the chances of water connec- 
tion with the markets of the world inviting. Moreover, 
this territory was in dispute between their country and 
England, which was an additional reason for its attrac- 
tiveness to the spirited men who had won the Missis- 
sippi Valley ; so they organized emigrant trains each 
spring, took their families and belongings in canvas- 
covered wagons, and set out. The route lay up the 
Platte and the Sweetwater, over South Pass, and down 
the Snake River to the Columbia.^ It was a journey of 
two thousand miles, and required the entire summer. 
The trains set out in April or May, and reached the 
Willamette in October or November. 

The emigrant bands were small at first. A couple of 
missionaries who accompanied Wyeth's trading party in 
1834 made the nucleus for a colony in the Willamette 
Valley. They were joined by others coming from Bos- 
ton by way of Cape Horn. To this little centre of 
civilized life came an occasional company of traders and 
trappers and a few arrivals by sea. Finally, in 1842, a 
regularly organized party of emigrants came by the 

1 See the Oregon Trail number of the Quarterly of the Oregon 
Historical Society^ December, 1900. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 255 

Oregon trail from Independence, Missouri ; and the 
next year a still larger band, guided by Dr. Whitman, 
who was on his way home after his famous winter ride 
across the continent. Thereafter the emigration was 
an annual event of the greatest interest and importance 
to the settlers already here. 

There was no longer any doubt as to how the Oregon 
question would be settled. The pioneers were in pos- 
session, and they soon set up a regular form of govern- 
ment, to last until the United States should take con- 
trol. The British government was at last convinced of 
the uselessness of further delay, and in 1846 a treaty 
was agreed upon. The United States had been claim- 
ing all the territory as far north as the point where 
Russia's claim stopped, fifty-four degrees and forty 
minutes. In fact, during the presidential campaign of 
1844 the cry had been, "fifty-four forty or fight," indi- 
cating that no other boundary would satisfy the people 
of this country. The British, on the other hand, had 
insisted on making the Columbia River the boundary. 
But there was a good chance to compromise on the line 
of forty-nine degrees, which already formed our north- 
ern boundary from the Lake of the Woods to the crest 
of the Rockies. This was now extended to Puget 
Sound. 

Thus the United States, starting with a territory lim- 
ited on the west by the Mississippi, had expanded to 
the Pacific Ocean. 

The Provisional Government. For a long time there 
were no civil magistrates in the Oregon country except 
the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company ; some of them 
were justices of the peace, appointed under the laws of 
England. In fact, it has been said that " the history 
of government for about twenty years is summed up in 



256 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the person of one man, Dr. John McLoughlin." ^ He 
it was who kept Indians, trappers, traders, and Canadian 
farmers in order. For this purpose he made regular 
tours through his domains, much to the terror of evil 
doers, both white and red. 

Such government was all well enough so long as the 
people to be controlled were of the classes described, 
but when American frontiersmen came to form a good 
part of this colony a different system was soon de- 
manded. By 1 84 1 there was a good deal of talk about 
forming a provisional government, and an accidental 
occurrence brought matters to a head. Among the 
early arrivals in the valley of the Willamette was a 
Tennesseean by the name of Ewing Young. He had 
been in California, then a Spanish colony, and had come 
to Oregon from there in 1834. In the course of a few 
years, by trading in cattle, running a saw-mill, and other 
means, he had got together property of considerable 
value. But in February, 1841, he died. Now, what to 
do with his property was a serious question. There 
was no one who had a legal right to take charge of it, 
and the settlers saw that a probate judge was necessary. 
But a probate court is a part of a regular government, 
so people began to insist that such a government be 
established. It is said that the men who gathered at 
the funeral of Ewing Young adopted resolutions in 
favor of a provisional government, and called a meeting 
of all the settlers to consider the matter. Other meet- 
ings followed, at one of which a committee was named 
to draw up a plan of government ; and, to meet the 
pressing need of the hour, a " supreme judge with pro- 
bate powers " was then and there appointed. Since it 

1 James Rood Robertson, Quarterly of the Oregon Historical 
Society^ March, 1900, page 11. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 257 

was two years before a complete provisional government 
actually went into operation, this judge, together with 
the clerk, sheriff, and two constables, appointed at the 
same time, made up the first government of Oregon. 

When, in the spring of 1843, a new series of meetings 
began, the cause was very different from that which 
called the men together in 1841. The settlers had 
been losing a great many cattle and sheep, killed by the 
wild beasts that infested the country. Some means 
had to be devised for saving their flocks and herds. 
This was a matter of interest to all, and therefore a gen- 
eral meeting was called to consider it. They decided 
to raise a fund by subscription, to pay bounties for the 
killing of wolves, lynxes, bears, and panthers ; they ap- 
pointed collectors to receive the money, and a treasurer 
to take charge of it. Before the meeting closed a com- 
mittee was appointed to see about taking measures "for 
the civil and military protection of the colony," by which 
was meant the people south of the Columbia. This 
was on the first Monday in March. On the second of 
May following occurred the meeting at Champoeg, at 
which the government was actually established and 
officers were chosen. 

The settlers south of the Columbia were not all 
Americans. A number of French Canadians also, who 
had been servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, were 
living on farms in the Willamette Valley. Many of 
these people were not ready to join in a provisional 
government which might weaken the claims of Great 
Britain to the whole of the country. No one knew 
exactly how many of them would oppose the scheme, 
but when the vote was taken it seemed so close that 
the chairman could not decide whether the measure had 
carried or not. Among the American settlers was one. 



258 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Joe Meek, a rugged trapper and Indian fighter, who had 
spent many years among the mountains before coming 
to the Willamette Valley. He was a natural leader, 
and just the man to meet a crisis like this. Stepping 
out in front of the crowd of excited men, he shouted : 
*' Who 's for a divide ? All in favor of the report and 
of an organization, follow me." The outcome was that 
fifty-two men were in favor and only fifty against the 
resolution. In this manner the first regular government 
on the Pacific coast was established, and at once put 
into effect by the election of the officers agreed upon. 
These were, a supreme judge with probate powers, a 
clerk of court or recorder, a sheriff (Joe Meek was chosen 
to this office), and a treasurer ; three magistrates, two 
constables, a major and two captains, and a legislative 
committee of nine persons. This committee was in- 
structed to report a constitution and code of laws to a 
meeting called for July 5th. In the First Organic Law, 
printed herewith (see page 261), we have their report. 

The Territorial Government. The settlers expected, 
when they formed the provisional government, that it 
would not be long before the boundary question would 
be settled and a territorial government set up by the 
United States. But three years passed before the first 
of these events occurred, and after that another three 
years before the nation actually took control. There- 
fore this provisional government, maintained by the sole 
authority of the people themselves, regulated the affairs 
of Oregon for a period of nearly six years. And it was 
completely successful. Under it ^' property was safe, 
schools established and supported, contracts enforced, 
debts collected, and the majesty of the law vindicated." ^ 

1 J. Ouinn Thornton, quoted by Robertson, Quarterly of the 
Oregon Historical Society^ March, 1900, p. 39. 




MONUMENT AT CHA^IPOEG 
To commemorate the foundation of the first provisional government. 



THE RISE OF A WESTERN STATE 259 

This proves that the people of Oregon were of the right 
stamp to be the builders of a great state. 

On the 14th of August, 1848, the bill creating the 
territory of Oregon was passed, and on the 3d of March 
following. General Joseph Lane put the new government 
into operation. From this time on the political history 
of Oregon was similar to that of other new states. 

On account of the steady incoming of settlers, the 
number of people grew rapidly, so that in a few years 
many were anxious for statehood. Several calls for a 
convention to frame a constitution were voted down, 
but by 1857 the people were ready for the change.^ A 
convention of sixty delegates met at Salem on the 17th 
of August, and completed their labors on September 
i8th by the adoption of the state constitution. A year 
and a half later, February 14, 1859, Oregon was admitted 
into the Union. 

With this event our survey of the early history of 

Oregon properly comes to a close.^ The story of the 

next forty years is a story of growth and development 

along all lines, but we cannot tell it here. In 1817 

Bryant wrote of this land as — 

" The continuous woods 
Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound 
Save his own dashings." 

To-day it is a prosperous and wealthy state, whose half 
million of people are busy with the manifold works of 
civilization and progress. 

^ According to Bancroft, History of Oregon, ii. 421, there were 
7617 votes in favor of the convention and 1679 against. 

2 It is expected that in the study of the constitution of the state 
of Oregon, use will be made of the outline placed at the end of 
Part III., on State Government. The authors advise that in the 
study of state government this chapter be brought in after Chapter 
XI. 



26o GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 



SUMMARY 

In the treaty with England in 1783 the United States se- 
cured the Mississippi as its western boundary ; but in 1803 
it bought the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi. 
The exploration of the western country by Lewis and Clark, 
together with the earlier discovery of the Columbia River by 
Captain Gray, gave the United States a strong claim upon 
the Oregon country. The same territory was also claimed 
by Spain, Russia, and England. The two former claims 
were early given up by treaty ; the latter was not abandoned 
until 1846. By this time many American settlers had arrived 
in Oregon, and a provisional government had been in opera- 
tion for several years. This was the first regular government 
set up on the Pacific coast. 

Soon afterward the United States organized the territory 
and sent out a territorial governor. In 1857 a constitutional 
convention adopted a state constitution, and in 1859 Oregon 
was admitted to the Union. 



Td5. 



as 



/J. 




^ouis 2. 






Ti 



FIRST ORGANIC LAW 

OR 

CONSTITUTION OF OREGON i 

Recommended by the citizens* legislative comm^ittee and adopted 
July 5, 1843, ^y i^^ inhabitants of Oregon^ assembled in mass 
m,eeting held at Champooick^ ten or twelve miles north of where 
the state capitol is now located at Salem. 

Section i. We, the people of Oregon Territory, for purposes of 
mutual protection, and to secure peace and prosperity among our- 
selves, agree to adopt the following laws and regulations, until such 
time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction 
over us. 

Be it therefore enacted, by the free citizens of Oregon Territory, 
that the said territory, for purposes of temporary government, be 
divided into not less than three, nor more than five, districts ; sub- 
ject to be extended to a greater number when an increase of popu- 
lation shall require it. 

For the purpose of fixing the principles of civil and religious 
liberty, as the basis of all laws and constitutions of government that 
may hereafter be adopted. 

Be it enacted, that the following articles be considered as articles 
of compact, among the free citizens of this territory : — 

Article i. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and 
orderly manner, shall ever be molested, on account of his mode of 
worship, or religious sentiments. 

Article 2. The inhabitants of said territory shall always be en- 
titled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus, and trial by jury ; 
of a proportionate representation of the people in the legislature, — 
and of judicial proceedings, according to the course of common 
law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences, where 

I This document, and the Provisional Constitution and State Constitution that follow, 
are copied from the Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of Oregon, 1897-1898, 
Appendix. 



262 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great. All fines shall 
be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. No 
man shall be deprived of his liberty, but by the judgment of his 
peers, or the law of the land; and, should the public exigencies 
make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take any per- 
son's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensa- 
tion shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation of 
rights and property, it is understood and declared that no law ought 
ever to be made, or have force, in said territory, that shall in any 
manner whatever interfere with or affect private contracts or en- 
gagements, bona fide and without fraud, previously formed. 

Article 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to 
good government, and the happiness of mankind, schools and the 
means of education shall forever be encouraged. 

The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the In- 
dians. Their lands and property shall never be taken from them 
without their consent ; and, in their property, rights, and liberty, 
they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful 
wars, authorized by the representatives of the people ; but laws, 
founded in justice and humanity, shall, from time to time, be made, 
for preventing injustice being done to them, and for preserving 
peace and friendship with them. 

Article 4. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi- 
tude in said territory, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. 

Section 2. Article i. Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, 
that the ofiicers, elected on the second of May, inst., shall continue 
in office, until the second Tuesday in May, 1844, and until others 
are elected and qualified. 

Article 2. Be it further enacted, that an election of civil and 
military officers shall be held annually, on the second Tuesday in 
May, in the several districts at such places as shall be designated 
by law. 

Article 3. Each officer heretofore elected, or hereafter to be 
elected, shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take an 
oath or affirmation, to support the laws of the territory, and faith- 
fully to discharge the duties of his office. 

Article 4. Every free male descendant of a white man, an inhab- 
itant of this territory, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, 
who shall have been an inhabitant of this territory at the time of 
its organization, shall be entitled to vote at the election of officers, 



FIRST ORGANIC LAW OF OREGON 263 

civil and military, and be eligible to any office in the territory, pro- 
vided, that all persons of the description entitled to vote by the 
provisions of this section, who shall have emigrated to this territory 
after organization, shall be entitled to the rights of citizens after 
having resided six months in the territory. 

Article 5. The executive power shall be vested in a committee 
of three persons, elected by the qualified voters at the annual elec- 
tion, who shall have power to grant pardons and reprieves for 
offences against the laws of the territory, to call out the military 
force of the territory to repel invasion, or suppress insurrection, to 
take care that the laws are faithfully executed, and to recommend 
such laws as they may consider necessary, to the representatives of 
the people, for their action. Two members of the committee shall 
constitute a quorum to transact business. 

Article 6. The legislative power shall be vested in a committee 
of nine persons, who shall be elected by the qualified electors at the 
annual election, giving to each [district] a representation in ratio 
of its population, excluding Indians ; and the said members of the 
committee shall reside in the district for which they shall be 
chosen. 

Article 7. The judicial power shall be vested in a supreme court, 
consisting of a supreme judge and two justices of the peace, a pro- 
bate court, and in justices of the peace. The jurisdiction of the 
supreme court shall be both appellate and original. That of the 
probate court and justices of the peace as limited hy\2iw, provided, 
that individual justices of the peace shall not have jurisdiction of 
any matter of controversy, when the title or boundary of land may 
be in dispute, or where the sum claimed exceed fifty dollars. 

Article 8. There shall be a recorder elected by the qualified 
electors, at the annual election, who shall keep a faithful record 
of the proceedings in the legislative committee, supreme and pro- 
bate courts ; also record all boundaries of land presented for that 
purpose ; and all marks and brands used for marking live stock ; 
procure and keep the standard weights and measures required by 
law, seal weights and measures, and keep a record of the same ; 
and also record wills and deeds, and other instruments of writing, 
required by law to be recorded. 

The recorder shall receive the following fees, viz. : For record- 
ing wills, deeds, and other instruments of writing, twelve cents for 
every hundred words, and the same price for copies of the same ; 
for every weight or measure sealed, twenty-five cents ; for granting 



264 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

other official papers and the seal, twenty-five cents ; for serving as 
clerk of the legislative committee, the same daily pay as the mem- 
bers of the legislature ; and for all other services required of him 
by this Act, the same fees as are allowed for similar services by 
the laws of Iowa. 

Article 9. There shall be a treasurer elected by the qualified 
electors of the territory, who shall, before entering upon the duties 
of his office, sfive bond to the executive committee, in the sum of 
fifteen hundred dollars, with two or more sufficient sureties, to be 
approved by the executive committee, conditioned for the faithful 
discharge of the duties of his office. The treasurer shall receive 
all moneys belonging to the territory, that may be raised by contri- 
bution, or otherwise, and shall procure suitable books in which he 
shall enter an account of his receipts and disbursements. 

Article 10. The treasurer shall in no case pay money out of the 
treasury, but according to law, and shall annually report to the 
legislative committee a true account of his receipts and disburse- 
ments, with necessary vouchers for the same, and shall deliver to 
his successor in office all books, money, accounts, or other property, 
belonging to the territory, so soon as his successor shall become 
qualified. 

Article li. The treasurer shall receive, for his services, the 
sum of five per cent, of all moneys received and paid out ac- 
cording to law, and three per cent, of all moneys in the treasury 
when he goes out of office, and two per cent, upon the disburse- 
ment of money in the treasury when he comes into office. 

Article 12. The laws of Iowa territory shall be the law of this 
territory, in civil, military, and criminal cases ; where not other- » 
wise provided for, and where no statute of Iowa applies, the prin- 
ciples of common law and equity shall govern. 

Article 13. The law of Iowa territory, regulating weights and 
measures, shall be the law of this territory ; provided^ that the 
supreme court shall perform the duties of the county commission- 
ers, and the recorder shall perform the duties of the clerk of the 
county commissioners, as prescribed in said laws of Iowa. And 
provided^ that 60 pounds, avoirdupois weight, shall be the standard 
weight of a bushel of wheat, whether the same be more or less than 
2150 2-5 cubic inches. 

Article 14. The laws of Iowa territory, respecting wills and ad- 
ministrations, shall be the laws of this territory in all cases not 
otherwise provided for. 



FIRST ORGANIC LAW OF OREGON 265 

Article 15. The law of Iowa respecting vagrants is hereby 
adopted, as far as adapted to the circumstances of the citizens of 
Oregon. 

Article 16. The supreme court shall hold two sessions annually, 
upon the third Tuesdays in April and September ; the first session 
to be held at Champooick, on the third Tuesday of September, 
1843, and the second session at Twality Plains, on the third Tues- 
day of April, 1844. At the sessions of the supreme court, the 
supreme judge shall preside, assisted by two justices ; provided^ 
that no justice shall assist in trying any case that has been brought 
before the court by appeal from his judgment. The supreme court 
shall have original jurisdiction in cases of treason, felony, or 
breaches of the peace, and in civil cases where the sum claimed 
exceed fifty dollars. 

Article 17. All male persons of the age of sixteen years and 
upwards, and all females of the age of fourteen and upwards, shall 
have the right of engaging in marriage ; provided^ that where either 
of the parties shall be under the age of twenty-one, the consent of 
the parents or guardians of such minor shall be necessary to the 
validity of such matrimonial engagement. Every ordained minis- 
ter of the gospel of any religious denomination, the supreme judge, 
and all justices of the peace, are hereby authorized to solemnize 
marriages according to law, and to have the same recorded and 
pay the recorder's fee. All marriages shall be recorded by the ter- 
ritorial recorder within one month from the time of such marriage 
taking place and being made known to him officially. The legal 
fee for marriage shall be one dollar, and for recording the same, 
fifty cents. 

Article 18. All offices subsequently made shall be filled by elec- 
tion and ballot in the several districts, in the most central and con- 
venient place in each district, upon the day appointed by law, and 
under such regulations as the laws of Iowa provide. 

Article 19. Resolved, that a committee of three be appointed to 
draw up a digest of the doings of the people of this territory, with 
regard to an organization, and transmit the same to the United 
States government, for their information. 

Resolved, that the following portions of the laws of Iowa, as laid 
down in the statute laws of the territory of Iowa, enacted at the first 
session of the legislative assembly of said territory, held at Burling- 
ton, A. D. 1838-9; published by authority, Du Buque, Bussel, and 
Reeves, printers, 1839, certified to be a correct copy, by Wm. B. 



266 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 



Conway, secretary of Iowa territory, be adopted as the laws of this 
territory, viz. : — 



The law of attachment 

The law of bonds 

The law of constables 

The law of construction of statutes. 

The law of costs and fees 

The law of criminal offences 



page 
page 
page 
page 
page 



page 109 

The law of courts of probate page 126 

The law of depositions page 172 

The law of executions page 197 

The law of forcible entry and detainer page 217 

The law of gaming page 221 

The law of Indians, sale of liquor to page 274 

The law of jurors ■ page 277 

The law of justices of the peace page 281 

The law of militia page 329 

The law of minors, orphans and guardians page 347 

The law of mills and millers page 343 

The law ne exeat and injunctions page 350 

The law of partition page 354 

The law of practice of the courts page 370 

* The law of promissory notes page 381 

The law of public administrators page 385 

The law of public lands page 388 

The law of recorder page 396 to 397 

The law of replevin page 398 to 400 

The law of right page 419 to 426 

The law of seals page 435 to 

The law of securities page 439 to 440 

The law of sheriffs page 441 to 447 

The law of territorial treasurer page 452 

The law of vagrants page 455 to 456 

The law of venne, change of , etc page 457 to 460 

The law of waste page 460 to 462 

The law of water crafts, lost goods, and estrays page 462 to 470 

The law of weights and measures • page 470 to 

The law of wills and administrations page 471 to 513 

The law of worshipping congregations page 513 to 514 

Adopted by the people, July 5, 1843. 

Note. — The Rev. G. Hines presided at the meeting at which the foregoing organic 
law was enacted and adopted, and Mr. Geo. W. Le Breton acted as clerk or secretary- 
Mr. Le Breton's account of the meeting says : " The inhabitants of Oregon territory met, 
pursuant to adjournment, to hear the report of the legislative committee, and to do such 
other business as might come before them. The chairman of the meeting being absent, 
the meeting was called to order by G. W. Le Breton. On motion Rev. G. Hines was 
called to the chair. Mr. Moore, chairman of the legislative committee, presented his 
report, which was read and accepted." The report of the judiciary committee of the legis- 
lative committee was then taken up and their report adopted section by section as above 
given. Messrs. Hill, Beers, and Gale were elected as an executive committee to act as 
governors of Oregon for the ensuing year. Justices of the peace were elected for Cham- 
pooick and Yamhill districts. 



64 
o 

o 73 
o 75 
o 89 
o 125 
o 127 
o 177 
o 205 
o 220 
o 224 
o 

o 281 
o 321 
o 337 
o 350 
0346 

0353 
o 364 
0381 
0385 



FIRST ORGANIC LAW OF OREGON 267 

The legislative committee consisted of the following persons : 
Robert Shortress, David Hill, Dr. Robert Newell, Alanson Beers, 
Thomas Hubbard, W. H. Gray, James O'Neil, Robert Moore, and 
Wm. Dougherty. 

OUTLINES AND QUESTIONS 

FOR STUDYING THE FIRST ORGANIC LAW OR CONSTITUTION 

OF OREGON 

1. The Introductory and Enacting Clauses. 

a. By whom is the document made ? for what purposes ? for 
what limit of time ? 

b. What is it called by its framers, and what significance attaches 
to the name ? 

2. The Bill of Rights. 

a. Select the articles which constitute it. 

b. Compare these articles with the first ten amendments of the 
Constitution of the United States. Which articles appear to have 
been taken from the Constitution and which do not .'' 

c. Compare clause i of Art. 3 with clause i. Art. III. of the 
Ordinance of 1787 ; also, compare Art. 4 with clause i of Art. VI., 
Ordinance of 1787. (For a copy of the Ordinance, see Earned, 
History for Ready Reference^ iv. 2382.) 

3. The Frame of Government. 

a. The executive department. How is it made up? what duties 
and powers are assigned to it ? 

b. The legislative department. How is it constituted, and how 
are its members to be chosen ? 

c. The judicial department. What classes of courts are pro- 
vided for, and what jurisdiction is assigned to each ? 

d. Other officers. Make a list of them, describe their powers 
and duties, and show to whom they are responsible. 

e. Special provisions. Select such matters as seem peculiar to 
this document, and try to find an explanation for them. 

4. Comparative Study of First Organic Law and Provi- 
sional Constitution. 

a. Compare each part of the First Organic Law with the corre- 
sponding part of the Provisional Constitution. (See p. 269.) 



268 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

b. What differences do you observe in the bills of rights ? 

c. What differences are there in the frames of government, espe- 
cially in the executive and legislative departments ? (On reasons for 
the changes, see Bancroft's Oregon^ or Robertson, Quarterly of the 
Oregon Historical Society^ March, 1900.) 

d. Point out any other differences between the two documents. 



PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 

The organic law of the provisional government of Oregon, 1845, adopted by the legisla- 
tive committee, July 2, 1845, and ratified by the people of Oregon at the polls by a majority 
of 203 votes, July 26, 1845. 

PREAMBLE. 

We, the people of Oregon territory, for purposes of mutual pro- 
tection, and to secure peace and prosperity among ourselves, agree 
to adopt the following laws and regulations, until such time as the 
United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us : 

Be it enacted^ therefore^ by the free citizens of Oregon territory ^ 
that the said territory, for the purposes of temporary government, 
be divided into not less than three nor more than five districts, sub- 
ject to be extended to a greater number when an increase of popu- 
lation shall require. 

For the purpose of fixing the principles of civil and religious 
liberty, as the basis of all laws and constitution of government, that 
may hereafter be adopted. 

Be it enacted^ that the following articles be considered articles of 
compact among the free citizens of this territory : 

ARTICLE I. 

Section i. No person demeaning himself in a peaceable and 
orderly manner, shall ever be molested upon account of his mode of 
worship, or religious sentiments. 

Section 2. The inhabitants of said territory shall always be 
entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus and trial by jury, 
of a proportionate representation of the people in the legislature, 
and of judicial proceedings, according to the course of common law. 
All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences, where the 
proof shall be evident, or the presumption great. All fines shall be 
moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. No man 
shall be deprived of his liberty, but by the judgment of his peers or 
the law of the land ; and should the public exigencies make it neces- 
sary for the common preservation, to take any person's property, or 



2/0 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made 
for the same ; and in the just preservation of rights and property, 
it is understood and declared, that no law ought ever to be made, 
or have force in said territory, that shall, in any manner v^hatever, 
interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide 
and without fraud, previously formed. 

Section 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary 
to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the 
means of education shall be forever encouraged. The utmost good 
faith shall always be observed towards the Indians ; their lands 
and property shall never be taken from them without their consent ; 
and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be in- 
vaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars, authorized by 
the representatives of the people ; but laws founded in justice and 
humanity shall, from time to time, be made for preventing injustice 
being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with 
them. 

Section 4. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi- 
tude in said territory, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes, 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. 

Section 5. No person shall be deprived of the right of bearing 
arms in his own defence ; no unreasonable searches or seizures shall 
be granted ; the freedom of the press shall not be restrained ; no 
person shall be twice tried for the same offence ; nor the people 
deprived of the right of peaceably assembling and discussing any 
matter they may think proper ; nor shall the right of petition ever 
be denied. 

Section 6. The powers of the government shall be divided into 
three distinct departments : The legislative, executive, and judicial ; 
and no person or persons belonging to one of these departments 
shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the 
others, except in cases herein directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section i. The legislative power shall be vested in a house of 
representatives, which shall consist of not less than thirteen, nor 
more than sixty-one members, whose numbers shall not be in- 
creased more than five at any one session, to be elected by the 
qualified electors at the annual election, giving to each district a 
representation in the ratio of its population (excluding Indians), 



PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 2/1 

and the said members shall reside in the district for which they shall 
be chosen ; and in case of vacancy by death, resignation, or other- 
wise, the executive shall issue his writ to the district where such 
vacancy has occurred, and cause a new election to be held, giving 
sufficient notice, at least ten days previously, of the time and place 
of holding said election. 

Section 2. The house of representatives, when assembled, shall 
choose a speaker and its other officers, be judges of the qualifica- 
tions and elections of its members, and sit upon its own adjourn- 
ment from day to day. Two thirds of the house shall constitute a 
quorum to transact business, but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized by law to compel the at- 
tendance of absent members. 

Section 3. The house may determine the rules of its proceed- 
ings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the con- 
currence of two thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for 
the same offence, and shall have all powers necessary for a legis- 
lature of a temporary government, not in contravention with the 
restrictions imposed in this organic law. 

Section 4. The house of representatives shall, from time to 
time, fix the salaries of the different officers appointed or elected 
under this compact, provided, the pay of no officer shall be altered 
during his term of service ; nor shall the pay of the house be in- 
creased by any law taking effect during the session at which such 
alteration is made. 

Section 5. The house of representatives shall have the sole 
power of impeaching ; three fourths of all the members must concur 
in an impeachment. The governor and all civil officers under these 
articles of compact shall be liable to impeachment for treason, 
bribery, or any high crime or misdemeanor in office. Judgment in 
such cases shall not extend further than removal from office, and 
disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit, under 
this compact ; but the party convicted may be dealt with according 
to law. 

Section 6. The house of representatives shall have power to lay 
out the territory into suitable districts, and apportion the represent- 
ation in their own body. They shall have power to pass laws for 
raising a revenue, either by levying and collecting of taxes, or the 
imposing of license on merchandise, ferries or other objects, — to 
open roads and canals, either by the levying a road tax, or the 
chartering of companies, — to regulate the intercourse of the people 



2/2 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

with the Indian tribes, — to establish post offices and post roads, — 
to declare war, suppress insurrection or repel invasion, — to provide 
for the organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
calling forth the militia to execute the laws of Oregon, — to pass 
laws to regulate the introduction, manufacture or sale of ardent 
spirits, — to regulate the currency and internal police of the 
country ; to create inferior tribunals and inferior officers necessary, 
and not provided for by these articles of compact, and generally to 
pass such laws to promote the general welfare of the people of 
Oregon, not contrary to the spirit of this instrument, — and all 
powers not hereby expressly delegated, remain with the people. 
The house of representatives shall convene annually on the first 
Tuesday in December, at such place as may be provided by law, 
and shall, upon their first meeting after the adoption of this instru- 
ment of compact, proceed to elect and define the duties of a secre- 
tary, recorder, treasurer, auditor, marshal or any other officers 
necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this com.pact. 

Section 7. The executive power shall be invested in one person, 
elected by the qualified voters at the annual election, who shall 
have power to fill vacancies, to remit fines and forfeitures, to grant 
pardons and reprieves for offences against the laws of the territory, 
to call out the military force of the territory to repel invasion or 
suppress insurrection, to take care that the laws are faithfully exe- 
cuted, and to recommend such laws as he may consider necessary to 
the representatives of the people for their action. Every bill which 
shall have been passed by the house of representatives shall, before 
it becomes a law, be presented to the governor for his approbation. 
If he approve, he shall sign it ; if not, he shall return it, with his 
objections, to the house, and the house shall cause the objections 
to be entered at large on its journals, and shall proceed to recon- 
sider the bill ; if, after such reconsideration, a majority of two 
thirds of the house shall agree to pass the same, it shall become a 
law. In such cases the votes shall be taken by ayes and noes, 
and entered upon the journals. If any bill shall not be returned 
by the governor to the house of representatives within three days 
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall become a law in like manner as if the governor had 
signed it, unless the house of representatives, by its adjournment, 
shall prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law. 
The governor shall continue in office two years, and until his suc- 
cessor is duly elected and qualified ; in case of the office becoming 



PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 2/3 

vacant by death, resignation or otherwise, the secretary shall exer- 
cise the duties of the office until the vacancy shall be filled by 

election. The governor shall receive the sum of dollars per 

annum, as full compensation for his services, which sum may be 
increased or diminished at any time by law ; provided^ the salary 
of no governor shall be altered during his term of service. The 
governor shall have power to convene the legislature on extraor- 
dinary occasions. 

Section 8. The judicial power shall be vested in a supreme 
court, and such inferior courts of law, equity and arbitration, as 
may from time to time be established. The supreme court shall 
consist of one judge, who shall be elected by the house of repre- 
sentatives, and hold his office for four years, and until his successor 
is duly elected and qualified. The supreme court, except in cases 
otherwise directed by this compact, shall have appellate jurisdiction 
only, which shall be co-extensive with this territory, and shall hold 
two sessions annually, beginning on the first Mondays of June and 
September, and at such places as by law directed. The supreme 
court shall have a general superintending control over all inferior 
courts of law. It shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, 
mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, and other original remedial 
writs, and hear and determine the same. The supreme court shall 
have power to decide upon and annul any laws contrary to the pro- 
visions of these articles of compact, and whenever called upon by 
the house of representatives, the supreme judge shall give his opin- 
ion, touching the validity of any pending measure. The house of 
representatives may, hereafter, provide by law for the supreme 
court having original jurisdiction in criminal cases. 

Section 9. All officers under this compact shall take an oath, as 
follows, to wit : I do solemnly swear that I will support the organic 
laws of the provisional government of Oregon, so far as said or- 
ganic laws are consistent with my duties as a citizen of the United 
States, or a subject of Great Britain, and faithfully demean myself 
in office, so help me God. 

Section 10. Every free male descendant of a white man, inhab- 
itant of this territory, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, 
who shall have been an inhabitant of this territory at the time of 
its organization, shall be entitled to a vote at the election of officers, 
civil and military, and be eligible to any office in the territory ; pro- 
vided, that all persons of the description entitled to vote by the 
provisions of this section, who shall immigrate to this territory 



2/4 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

after organization, shall be entitled to the rights of citizens, after 
having resided six months in the territory. 

Section ii. The election of all civil officers, provided for by 
this compact, shall be held the first Monday in June annually. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section i. Any person now holding, or hereafter wishing to 
establish a claim to land in this territory, shall designate the extent 
of his claim by natural boundaries, or by marks at the corners and 
upon the lines of such claim, and have the extent and boundaries of 
said claim recorded in the office of the territorial recorder, in a book 
to be kept by him for that purpose, within twenty days from the 
time of making said claim; provided, that those who shall be 
already in possession of land, shall be allowed twelve months from 
the passage of this act, to file a description of his claim in the 
recorder's office ; and, provided further^ that the said claimant shall 
state in his record, the size, shape and locality of such claim, and 
give the name of the adjoining claimants, and the recorder may 
require the applicant for such record, to be made to answer, on his 
oath, touching the facts. 

Section 2. All claimants shall, within six months from the time 
of recording their claims, make permanent improvements upon the 
same by building or enclosing, and also become an occupant upon 
said claim within one year from the date of such record, or in case 
not occupied, the person holding said claim shall pay into the trea- 
sury the sum of five dollars annually, and in case of failure to oc- 
cupy, or on failure of payment of the sum above stated, the claim 
shall be considered as abandoned ; provided^ that no non-resident 
of this territory shall have the benefit of this law ; and provided 
further, that any resident of this territory, absent on his private 
business for two years, may hold his claim by paying five dollars 
annually to the treasury. 

Section 3. No individual shall be allowed to hold a claim of 
more than one square mile, or six hundred and forty acres, in a 
square or oblong form, according to the natural situation of the 
premises. Nor shall any individual be allowed to hold more than 
one claim at the same time. Any person complying with the pro- 
visions of these ordinances shall be entitled to the same recourse 
against trespass, as in other cases by law provided. 

Section 4. Partnerships of two or more persons shall be allowed 
to take up a tract of land not exceeding six hundred and forty 



PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 275 

acres to each person in said partnership, subject to all the provi- 
sions of the law ; and whenever such partnership is dissolved, the 
members shall each record the particular parts of said tract as may- 
be allotted to him, ^provided, that no member of said partnership 
shall hold a separate claim, at the time of the existence of said 
partnership. 

Section 5. The boundary lines of all claims shall hereafter con- 
form, as near as may be, to the cardinal points. 

Section 6. The officers elected at the general election, held on 
the first Tuesday in June, 1845, shall be the officers to act under 
this organic law, are hereby declared valid and legal. 

Section 7. Amendments to this instrument may be proposed by 
the house of representatives, two thirds of the members concurring 
therein, which amendments shall be made public in all parts of 
Oregon, and be read at the polls at the next succeeding general 
election, and a concurrence of two thirds of all the members elected 
at said election may pass said amendments, and they shall become 
a part of this compact. 

I, John E. Long, secretary of Oregon territory, do hereby certify- 
that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original law, as 
passed by the representatives of the people of Oregon, on the fifth 
day of July, 1845, ^^"^ submitted to the people on the twenty-sixth 
day of the same month, and by them adopted, and now on file in 
my office. 

J. E. LONG, 

Secretary of Oregon. 

Note. — The journal of the legislature under date of Wednesday, June 25, 1845, under 
the head of " orders of the day," reads as follows : " The message of the executive being 
first in order was taken up, and on motion ... so much of it as relates to revision of 
organic and other laws was referred to a select committee of five, consisting of Messrs. 
Lee, Newell, Applegate, Smith, and McClure." Also journal of legislature under date 
of July 2, 1845: "Mr. H. Lee reported from committee on revision, received and re- 
ferred to committee of the whole. . . . The house went into committee of the whole, Mr. 
Garrison in the chair. When the committee arose, the chairman reported that the com- 
mittee had had under consideration the original organic laws, and the committee recom- 
mended their adoption. The report from the committee of the whole was received, and 
on the question. Shall the organic laws be adopted by the house? the yeas and nays 
were demanded and were as follows : Yeas, Applegate, Foisy, Gray, Garrison, Hen- 
dricks, Hill, H. Lee, B. Lee, McClure, Newell, Smith, Straight, and Mr. Speaker — 
13; nays — none. So the original laws were adopted by the house for the purpose of 
being submitted to the people." Also from legislative journal under date of August 
S, 1845 : " On motion of Mr. Applegate the clerk was called upon to inform the house 
what was the result of the vote of the people on the organic law. The result was read, 
when it appeared there was a majority of 203 in favor of the amended organic law." 



2^6 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

The foregoing is all the official record that can be found con- 
cerning the drawing up and enacting and adopting of one of the 
most important written documents in the history of Oregon. The 
committee having the work in charge consisted of Messrs. Jesse 
Applegate, Robert Newell, J. W. Smith, John G. McClure, and H. 
A. G. Lee, — the latter name being in some doubt, as there were 
two Lees in the legislature and the name appears nowhere in con- 
nection with the enactment of the organic law in any other form 
than " Mr. Lee." 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 

Framed by a convention of sixty delegates at Sale7n, Oregon, Sep- 
tember i8, 1857, ajtd adopted by the people November 9, 1857. 
Approved by Congress February 14, 1859. 

PREAMBLE. 

We, the people of the state of Oregon, to the end that justice be 
established, order maintained, and liberty perpetuated, do ordain 
this constitution. 

ARTICLE L 

BILL OF RIGHTS. 

1. We declare that all men, when they form a social compact, 
are equal in right ; that all power is inherent in the people, and all 
free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for 
their peace, safety and happiness ; and they have at all times a 
right to alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner as 
they may think proper. 

2. All men shall be secured in the natural right to worship 
Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. 

3. No law shall in any case whatever control the free exercise 
and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of 
conscience. 

4. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for any 
office of trust or profit. 

5. No money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit 
of any rehgious or theological institution, nor shall any money be 
appropriated for the payment of any religious services in either 
house of the legislative assembly. 

6. No person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness or juror 
in consequence of his opinions on matters of religion, nor be ques- 
tioned in any court of justice touching his religious belief, to affect 
the weight of his testimony. 

7. The mode of administering an oath or affirmation shall be 



2/8 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

such as may be most consistent with, and binding upon, the con- 
science of the person to whom such oath or affirmation may be 
administered. 

8. No law shall be passed restraining the free expression of 
opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print freely upon 
any subject whatever; but every person shall be responsible for the 
abuse of this right. 

9. No law shall violate the right of the people to be secure in 
their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable 
search or seizure ; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing 
the place to be searched, and the person or thing to be seized. 

ID. No court shall be secret, but justice shall be administered 
openly and without purchase, completely and without delay, and 
every man shall have remedy by due course of law for injury done 
him in person, property, or reputation. 

11. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right 
to public trial by an impartial jury in the county in which the offence 
shall have been committed ; to be heard by himself and counsel ; to 
demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to 
have a copy thereof ; to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. 

12. No person shall be put in jeopardy twice for the same offence, 
nor be compelled in criminal prosecution to testify against himself. 

13. No person arrested or confined in jail shall be treated with 
unnecessary rigor. 

14. Offences, except murder and treason, shall be bailable by suf- 
ficient sureties. Murder or treason shall not be bailable when the 
proof is evident or the presumption strong. 

15. Laws for the punishment of crime shall be founded on the 
principles of reformation, and not of vindictive justice. 

16. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed. Cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted, but 
all penalties shall be proportioned to the offence. In all criminal 
cases whatever the jury shall have the right to determine the law 
and the facts, under the direction of the court, as to the law, and 
the right of new trial, as in civil cases. 

17. In all civil cases the right of trial by jury shall remain invio- 
late. 

18. Private property shall not be taken for public use, nor the 
particular s§rvices of any man be demanded without just compen- 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 279 

sation ; nor, except in case of the state, without such compensation 
first assessed and tendered. 

19. There shall be no imprisonment for debt except in case of 
fraud or absconding debtors. • 

20. No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of 
citizens privileges or immunities which, upon the same terms, shall 
not equally belong to all citizens. 

21. '^o ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligations of 
contracts, shall ever be passed, nor shall any law be passed, the 
taking effect of which shall be made to depend upon any authority, 
except as provided in this constitution ; provided, that laws locating 
the capitol of the state, locating county seats, and submitting town 
and corporate acts, and other local and special laws, may take effect 
or not, upon a vote of the electors interested. 

22. The operation of the laws shall never be suspended except 
by the authority of the legislative assembly. 

23. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
pended, unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
require it. 

24. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war 
against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid or comfort. 
No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of 
two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court. 

25. No conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture 
of estate. 

26. No law shall be passed restraining any of the inhabitants of 
the state from assembling together in a peaceable manner to con- 
sult for their common good ; nor from instructing their representa- 
tives ; nor from applying to the legislature for redress of grievances. 

27. The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defence 
of themselves and the state, but the military shall be kept in strict 
subordination to the civil power. 

28. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, except in man- 
ner prescribed by law. 

29. No law shall be passed granting any title of nobility, or con- 
ferring hereditary distinctions. 

30. No law shall be passed prohibiting emigration from the 
state. 

31. White foreigners who are or may hereafter become residents 
of this state shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the posses- 



28o GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

sion, enjoyment and descent of property as native-born citizens. 
And the legislative assembly shall have power to restrain and regu- 
late the immigration to this state of persons not qualified to become 
citizens of the United States. 

32. No tax duty shall be imposed without the consent of the 
people or their representatives in the legislative assembly ; and all 
taxation shall be equal and uniform. 

33. This enumeration of rights and privileges shall not be con- 
strued to impair or deny others retained by the people. 

34. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in 
the state, otherwise than as a punishment for crime, whereof the 
party shall have been duly convicted. 

35. No free negro or mulatto, not residing in this state at the 
time of the adoption of this constitution, shall come, reside or be 
within this state, or hold any real estate, or make any contracts, or 
maintain any suit therein ; and the legislative assembly shall pro- 
vide by penal laws for the removal by public officers of all such 
negroes and mulattoes, and for their effectual exclusion from the 
state, and for the punishment of persons who shall bring them into 
the state, or employ or harbor them. 

Note. — Section 35 has been superseded and annulled by the XIV amendment to the 
national Constitution. Sections 34 and 35 as printed above do not appear in the original 
enrolled copy of the constitution of Oregon now on file in this office, and both sections are 
rendered null and void by amendments to the national Constitution of the United States 
covering the same subject. 

ARTICLE II. 

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS. 

Section i. All elections shall be free and equal. 

Section 2. In all elections not otherwise provided for by this 
constitution, every white male citizen of the United States, of the 
age of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall have resided in the 
state during the six months immediately preceding such election — 
and every white male of foreign birth of the age of twenty-one years 
and upwards, who shall have resided in this state during the 
six months immediately preceding such election, and shall have 
declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States one 
year preceding such election, conformably to the laws of the United 
States on the subject of naturaUzation, shall be entitled to vote at 
all elections authorized by law. 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 281 

Section 3. No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the 
privileges of an elector ; and the privilege of an elector shall be for- 
feited, by a conviction of any crime which is punishable by imprison- 
ment in the penitentiary. 

Section 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed 
to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or 
absence while employed in the service of the United States, or of 
this state ; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of 
this state, or of the United States, or of the high seas ; nor while a 
student of any seminary of learning ; nor while kept at any alms- 
house, or other asylum, at public expense ; nor while confined in 
any public prison. 

Section 5. No soldier, seaman or marine, in the army or navy 
of the United States, or of their allies, shall be deemed to have 
acquired a residence in the state in consequence of having been 
stationed within the same ; nor shall any such soldier, seaman or 
marine have the right to vote. 

Section 6. No negro. Chinaman or mulatto shall have the right 
of suffrage. 

Section 7. Every person shall be disqualified from holding office 
during the term for which he may have been elected, who shall have 
given or offered a bribe, threat, or reward to procure his election. 

Section 8. The legislative assembly shall enact laws to support 
the privilege of free suffrage, prescribing the manner of regulating 
and conducting election, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, 
all undue influence therein, from power, bribery, tumult, and other 
improper conduct. 

Section 9. Every person who shall give or accept a challenge to 
fight a duel, or who shall knowingly carry to another person such 
challenge, or who shall agree to go out of the state to fight a duel, 
shall be ineligible to any office of trust or profit. 

Section 10. No person holding a lucrative office or appointment 
under the United States, or under this state, shall be eligible to a 
seat in the legislative assembly ; nor shall any person hold more 
than one lucrative office at the same time, except as in this consti- 
tution expressly permitted ; provided^ that offices in the militia, to 
which there is attached no annual salary, and the office of post- 
master, where the compensation does not exceed qne hundred dol- 
lars per annum, shall not be deemed lucrative. 

Section II. No person who may hereafter be a collector or 
holder of public money shall be eligible to any office of trust or 



282 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

profit, until he shall have accounted for and paid over, according to 
law, all sums for which he may be liable. 

Section 12. In all cases in which it is provided that an office shall 
not be filled by the same person more than a certain number of years 
continuously, an appointment pro tempore shall not be reckoned a 
part of that term. 

Section 13. In all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of 
the peace, electors shall be free from arrest in going to elections, 
during their attendance there, and in returning from the same ; and 
no elector shall be obliged to do duty in the militia on any day of 
election, except in time of war, or public danger. 

Section 14. General elections shall be held on the first Monday 
of June, biennially. 

Section 15. In all elections by the legislative assembly, or by 
either branch thereof, votes shall be given openly, or viva voce, and 
not by ballot forever ; and in all elections by the people, votes shall 
be given openly, or viva voce, until the legislative assembly shall 
otherwise direct. 

Section 16. In all elections held by the people under this consti- 
tution, the person or persons who shall receive the highest number 
of votes shall be declared duly elected. 

Section 17. All qualified electors shall vote in the election pre- 
cinct in the county where they may reside, for county officers, and 
in any county in the state for state officers, or in any county of a 
congressional district in which such electors may reside, for mem- 
bers of Congress. 

Note. — The effect of the XV amendment to the national Constitution "is to deprive 
the provisions of the state constitution and the acts of the state legislature, restricting the 
exercise of the right of suffrage to white persons, of all legal force and efficacy." 

Note. — Negroes or mulattoes born or naturalized in the United States and subject to 
the jurisdiction thereof, by virtue of the XIV amendment are now citizens of the United 
States, and the state wherein they reside, and therefore by virtue of the XV amendment 
are entitled to the right of suffrage in this state, the same as white citizens ; and the same 
is true of all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the juris- 
diction thereof. The Slaughter House Cases, 16 Wall. 36. 

ARTICLE III. 

* DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

Section i. The powers of the government shall be divided into 
three separate departments, — the legislative, the executive, includ- 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 283 

ing the administrative, and the judicial ; and no person charged 
with official duties under one of these departments shall exercise 
any of the functions of another, except as in this constitution ex- 
pressly provided. 

ARTICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The legislative authority of the state shall be vested 
in the legislative assembly, which shall consist of a senate and 
house of representatives. The style of every bill shall be, " Be it 
enacted by the legislative assembly of the state of Oregon," and no 
law shall be enacted except by bill. 

Section 2. The senate shall consist of sixteen, and the house of 
representatives of thirty-four, members, which number shall not be 
increased until the year eighteen hundred and sixty, after which 
time the legislative assembly may increase the number of senators 
and representatives, always keeping, as near as may be, the same 
ratio as to the number of senators and representatives; provided^ 
that the senate shall never exceed thirty, and the house of repre- 
sentatives sixty members. 

Section 3. The senators and representatives shall be chosen by 
the electors of the respective counties or districts into which the 
state may from time to time be divided by law. 

Section 4. The senators shall be elected for the term of four 
years, and representatives for the term of two years from the day 
next after their general election ; provided^ however, that the sen- 
ators elect, at the first session of the legislative assembly under 
this constitution, shall be divided by lot into two equal classes, as 
nearly as may be ; and the seats of senators of the first class shall 
be vacated at the expiration of two years, and those of the second 
class at the expiration of four years ; so that one half, as nearly as 
possible, shall be chosen biennially forever thereafter. And in case 
of the increase of the number of senators, they shall be so annexed 
by lot to one or the other of the two classes as to keep them as 
nearly equal as possible. 

Section 5. The legislative assembly shall, in the year eighteen 
hundred and sixty-five, and every ten years after, cause an enumer- 
ation to be made of all the white population of the state. 

Section 6. The number of senators and representatives shall, at 
the session next following an enumeration of the inhabitants by the 



284 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

United States or this state, be fixed by law, and apportioned among 
the several counties according to the number of white population 
in each. And the ratio of senators and representatives shall be 
determined by dividing the whole number of white population of 
such county or district, by such respective ratios ; and when a frac- 
tion shall result from such division, which shall exceed one half of 
such ratio, such county or district shall be entitled to a member for 
such fraction. And in case any county shall not have the requisite 
population to entitle such county to a member, then such county 
shall be attached to some adjoining county for senatorial or repre- 
sentative purposes. 

Section 7. A senatorial district, when more than one county 
shall constitute the same, shall be composed of contiguous counties, 
and no county shall be divided in creating senatorial districts. 

Section 8. No person shall be a senator or representative who, 
at the time of his election, is not a citizen of the United States ; nor 
any one who has not been for one year next preceding his election 
an inhabitant of the county or district whence he may be chosen. 
Senators or representatives shall be at least twenty-one years of 
age. 

Section 9. Senators and representatives in all cases, except for 
treason, felony, or breaches of the peace, shall be privileged from 
arrest during the session of the legislative assembly, and in going 
to and returning from the same ; and shall not be subject to any 
civil process during the session of the legislative assembly, nor 
during the fifteen days next before the commencement thereof. 
Nor shall a member, for words uttered in debate in either house, be 
questioned in any other place. 

Section 10. The sessions of the legislative assembly shall be 
held biennially at the capital of the state, commencing on the 
second Monday of September, in the year eighteen hundred and 
fifty-eight, and on the same day of every second year thereafter, 
unless a different day shall have been appointed by law. 

Note. — As allowed by the last clause in section 10, the legislative assembly of the 
state of Oregon at its session held in 1882 passed an act changing the time of meeting of 
the legislative assembly from that time forward to the second Monday m January instead 
of the second Monday in September following each biennial election. The act of 1882 
reads as follows: " Section i. That the sessions of the legislative assembly shall be held 
biennially at the capital of the state, and that the time of meeting be changed from th» 
second Monday of September, as provided in Article IV, section 10, of the constitution of 
Oregon, to the second Monday in January in the year 1885, and on the same day of every 
second year thereafter." 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 285 

Section 11. Each house, when assembled, shall choose its own 
officers, judge of election, qualifications and returns of its own mem- 
bers, determine its own rules of proceeding, and sit upon its own 
adjournments ; but neither house shall without the concurrence of 
the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor at any other place 
than that in which it may be sitting. 

Section 12. Two thirds of each house shall constitute a quorum 
to do business, but a smaller number may meet, adjourn from day 
to day and compel the attendance of absent members. A quorum 
being in attendance, if either house fail to effect an organization 
within the first five days thereafter, the members of the house so 
failing shall be entitled to no compensation from the end of the five 
days until an organization shall have been effected. 

Section 13. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings. 
The yeas and nays on any question shall, at the request of any 
two members, be entered, together with the names of the members 
demanding the same, on the journal ; provided, that on a motion to 
adjourn, it shall require one tenth of the members present to order 
the yeas and nays. 

Section 14. The doors of each house, and of committees of the 
whole, shall be kept open, except in such cases as in the opinion of 
either house shall require secrecy. 

Section 15. Either house may punish its members for disorderly 
behavior, and may, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a 
member; but not a second time for the same cause. 

Section 16. Either house, during its session, may punish by im- 
prisonment any person not a member who shall have been guilty 
of disrespect to the house by disorderly or contemptuous behavior 
in its presence, but such imprisonment shall not at any time exceed 
twenty-four hours. 

Section 17. Each house shall have all powers necessary for a 
branch of the legislative department of a free and independent 
state. 

Section 18. Bills may originate in either house, but may be 
amended or rejected in the other, except that bills for raising re- 
venue shall originate in the house of representatives. 

Section 19. Every bill shall be read by sections, on three several 
days, in each house, unless, in case of emergency, two thirds of the 
house where such bill may be depending shall, by a vote of yeas 
and nays, deem it expedient to dispense with this rule ; but the 
reading of a bill by sections on its final passage shall in no case be 



286 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

dispensed with, and the vote on the passage of every bill or joint 
resolution shall be taken by yeas and nays. 

Section 20. Every act shall embrace but one subject, and matters 
properly connected therewith, which subject shall be expressed in 
the title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act which 
shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to 
so much thereof as shall not be expressed in the title. 

Section 21. Every act and joint resolution shall be plainly 
worded, avoiding as far as practicable the use of technical terms. 

Section 22. No act shall ever be revised or amended by mere 
reference to its title, but the act revised or section amended shall 
be set forth and published at full length. 

Section 23. The legislative assembly shall not pass special or 
local laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to 
say — 

1. Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, 
and of constables. 

2. For the punishment of crimes and misdemeanors. 
' 3. Regulating the practice in courts of justice. 

4. Providing for changing the venue in civil and criminal 
cases. 

5. Granting divorces. 

6. Changing the names of persons. 

7. For laying, opening and working on highways, and for the 
election or appointment of supervisors. 

8. Vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public squares. 

9. Summoning and empanelling grand and petit jurors. 

10. For the assessment and collection of taxes for state, county, 
township or road purposes. 

11. Providing for supporting common schools, and for the pre- 
servation of school funds. 

12. In relation to interest on money. 

13. Providing for opening and conducting the elections of the 
state, county or township officers, and designating the places of 
voting. 

14. Providing for the sale of real estate belonging to minors or 
other persons laboring under legal disabilities, by executors, admin- 
istrators, guardians or trustees. 

Section 24. Provision may be made by general law for bringing 
suit against the state, as to all liabilities originating after or exist- 
ing at the time of the adoption of this constitution ; but no special 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 28/ 

act authorizing such suit to be brought, or making compensation to 
any person claiming damages against the state shall ever be passed. 

Section 25. A majority of all the members elected to each house 
shall be necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution; and all 
bills and joint resolutions so passed shall be signed by the presid- 
ing officers of the respective houses. 

Section 26. Any member of either house shall have the right to 
protest, and have his protest, with reasons for dissent, entered on 
the journal. 

Section 27. Every statute shall be a public law, unless otherwise 
declared in the statute itself. 

Section 28. No act shall take effect until ninety days from the 
end of the session at which the same shall have been passed, ex- 
cept in case of emergency ; which emergency shall be declared in 
the preamble or in the body of the law. 

Section 29. The members of the legislative assembly shall re- 
ceive for their services a sum not exceeding three dollars a day, 
from the commencement of the session ; but such pay shall not 
exceed in the aggregate one hundred and twenty dollars for per 
diem allowance for any one session. When convened in extra ses- 
sion by the governor, they shall receive three dollars per day ; but 
no extra session shall continue for a longer period than twenty 
days. They shall also receive the sum of three dollars for every 
twenty miles they shall travel in going to and returning from their 
place of meeting, on the most usual route. The presiding officers 
of the assembly shall, in virtue of their office, receive an additional 
compensation equal to two thirds of their per diem allowance as 
members. 

Section 30. No senator or representative shall, during the time 
for which he may have been elected, be eligible to any office, the 
election to which is vested in the legislative assembly ; nor shall he 
be appointed to any civil office of profit which shall have been 
created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased 
during such term, but this latter provision shall not be construed 
to apply to any officer elective by the people. 

Section 31. The members of the legislative assembly shall, be- 
fore they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and 
subscribe the following oath or affirmation : 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will 
support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution 
of the state of Oregon, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties 



288 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

of senator (or representative, as the case may be) according to the 
best of my ability. 

And such oath may be administered by the governor, secretary 
of state, or judge of the supreme court. 



ARTICLE V. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The chief executive power of the state shall be 
vested in a governor, who shall hold his office for a term of four 
years ; and no person shall be eligible to such office more than eight 
in any period of twelve years. 

Section 2. No person, except a citizen of the United States, 
shall be eligible to the office of governor, nor shall any person be 
eligible to that office who shall not have attained the age of thirty 
years, and who shall not have been three years next preceding his 
election a resident within this state. 

Section 3. No member of Congress, or person holding any office 
under the United States, or under this state, or under any other 
power, shall fill the office of governor, except as may be otherwise 
provided in this constitution. 

Section 4. The governor shall be elected by the qualified elec- 
tors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of 
the legislative assembly, and the returns of every election for gov- 
ernor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the secretary of state, 
directed to the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall 
open and publish them in the presence of both houses of the legis- 
lative assembly. 

Section 5. The person having the highest number of votes for 
governor shall be elected; but in case two or more persons shall 
have an equal and the highest number of votes for governor, the 
two houses of the legislative assembly, at the next regular session 
thereof, shall forthwith, by joint vote, proceed to elect one of the 
said persons governor. 

Section 6. Contested elections for governor shall be determined 
by the legislative assembly in such manner as may be prescribed 
by law. 

Section 7. The official term of the governor shall be four years, 
and shall commence at such times as may be prescribed by this 
constitution or prescribed by law. 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 289 

Section 8. In case of the removal of the governor from office, 
or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the duties of 
the office, the same shall devolve upon the secretary of state ; and 
in case of the removal from office, death, resignation, or inability, 
both of the governor and secretary of state, the president of the 
senate shall act as governor until the disability be removed or a 
governor be elected. 

Section 9. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the 
military and naval forces of this state, and may call out such forces 
to execute the laws, to suppress insurrection, or to repel invasion. 

Section 10. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted. 

Section 11. He shall, from time to time, give to the legislative 
assembly information touching the condition of the state, and 
recommend such measures as he shall judge to be expedient. 

Section 12. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the 
legislative assembly by proclamation, and shall state to both 
houses, when assembled, the purpose for which they shall have 
convened. 

Section 13. He shall transact all necessary business with the 
officers of government, and may require information in writing 
from the officers of the administrative and military departments 
upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. 

Section 14. He shall have power to grant reprieves, commuta- 
tions and pardons, after conviction, for all offences except treason, 
subject to such regulations as may be provided by law. Upon con- 
viction for treason, he shall have the power to suspend the execu- 
tion of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the legislative 
assembly, at its next meeting, when the legislative assembly shall 
either grant a pardon, commute the sentence, direct the execution 
of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall have power 
to remit fines and forfeitures, under such regulations as may be 
prescribed by law ; and shall report to the legislative assembly, at 
its next meeting, each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon 
granted, and the reason for granting the same ; and also the names 
of all persons in whose favor remission of fines and forfeitures shall 
have been made, and the several amounts remitted. 

Section 15. Every bill which shall have passed the legislative 
assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the gov- 
ernor ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it 
with his objections to that house in which it shall have originated, 



290 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

which house shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and 
proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two thirds 
of the members present shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, 
together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of the 
members present, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
names of the members voting for or against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively ; if any bill shall not be re- 
turned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it 
shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law without his sig- 
nature, unless the general adjournment shall prevent its return, in 
which case it shall be a law, unless the governor within five days 
next after the adjournment (Sundays excepted) shall file such a bill, 
with his objections thereto, in the office of the secretary of state, 
who shall lay the same before the legislative assembly at its next 
session, in like manner as if it had been returned by the governor. 

Section i6. When, during a recess of the legislative assembly, 
a vacancy shall happen in any office, the appointment of which is 
vested in the legislative assembly, or when at any time a vacancy 
shall have occurred in any other state office, or in the office of judge 
of any court, the governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment, 
which shall expire when a successor shall have been elected and 
qualified. 

Section 17. He shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies 
as may have occurred in the legislative assembly. 

Section 18. All commissions shall issue in the name of the state, 
shall be signed by the governor, sealed with the seal of the state, 
and attested by the secretary of state. 



ARTICLE VI. 

ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of 
the state, at the times and places of choosing members of the legis- 
lative assembly, a secretary and treasurer of state, who shall sever- 
ally hold their offices for the term of four years ; but no person 
shall be eligible to either of said offices more than eight in any 
period of twelve years. 

Section 2. The secretary of state shall keep a fair record of 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 29I 

the official acts of the legislative assembly and executive depart- 
ment of the state ; and shall, when required, lay the same and all 
matters relative thereto before either branch of the legislative 
assembly. He shall be by virtue of his office auditor of public 
accounts, and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned 
him by law. 

Section 3. There shall be a seal of state, kept by the secretary 
of state for official purposes, which shall be called " The seal of the 
state of Oregon." 

Section 4. The powers and duties of the treasurer of state shall 
be such as may be prescribed by law. 

Section 5. The governor, the secretary, and treasurer of state 
shall severally keep the public records, books and papers in any 
manner relating to their respective offices at the seat of govern- 
ment, at which place also the secretary of state shall reside. 

Section 6. There shall be elected in each county, by the quali- 
fied electors thereof, at the time of holding general elections, a 
county clerk, treasurer, sheriff, coroner and surveyor, who shall 
severally hold their offices for the term of two years. 

Section 7. Such other county, township, precinct and city offi- 
cers as may be necessary shall be elected or appointed in such 
manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Section 8, No person shall be elected or appointed to a county 
office who shall not be an elector of the county; and all county, 
township, precinct and city officers shall keep their respective 
offices at such places therein, and perform such duties as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Section 9. Vacancies in county, township, precinct and city 
offices shall be filled in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 



ARTICLE VII. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The judicial power of the state shall be vested in a 
supreme court, circuit courts and county courts, which shall be 
courts of record, having general jurisdiction, to be defined, limited 
and regulated by law in accordance with this constitution. Justices 
of the peace may also be invested with limited judicial powers; 
and municipal courts may be created to administer the regulations 
of incorporated towns and cities. 



292 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Section 2. The supreme court shall consist of four justices, to 
be chosen in districts by the electors thereof, who shall be citizens 
of the United States, and who shall have resided in the state at 
least three years next preceding their election, and after their elec- 
tion to reside in their respective districts. The number of justices 
and districts may be increased, but shall not exceed five until the 
white population of the state shall amount to one hundred thou- 
sand, and shall never exceed seven ; and the boundaries of districts 
may be changed, but no change of district shall have the effect to 
remove a judge from office, or require him to change his residence 
without his consent. 

Section 3. The judges first chosen under this constitution shall 
allot among themselves their terms of office, so that the term of 
one of them shall expire in two years, one in four years, and two in 
six years, and thereafter one or more shall be chosen every two 
years, to serve for the term of six years. 

Section 4. Every vacancy in the office of judge of the supreme 
court shall be filled by election for the remainder of the vacant 
term, unless it would expire at the next election, and until so filled, 
or when it would so expire, the governor shall fill the vacancy by 
appointment. 

Section 5, The judge who has the shortest term to serve, or 
the oldest of several having such shortest term and not holding by 
appointment, shall be the chief justice. 

Section 6. The supreme court shall have jurisdiction only to 
revise the final decisions of the circuit courts ; and every cause 
shall be tried and every decision shall be made by those judges 
only, or a majority of them, who did not try the cause or make the 
decision in the circuit court. 

Section 7, The terms of the supreme court shall be appointed 
by law, but there shall be one term at the seat of government annu- 
ally. And at the close of each term the judges shall file with 
the secretary of state concise written statements of the decisions 
made at that term. 

Section 8. The circuit court shall beheld twice, at least, in each 
year in each county organized for judicial purposes by one of the 
justices of the supreme court at times to be appointed by law, and 
at such other times as may be appointed by the judges severally in 
pursuance of law. 

Section 9. All judicial power, authority, and jurisdiction not 
vested by this constitution or by-laws consistent therewith exclu- 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 293 

sively in some other court shall belong to the circuit courts, and 
they shall have appellate jurisdiction and supervisory control over 
the county courts and all other inferior courts, officers, and tribunals. 

Section 10. When the white population of the state shall amount 
to two hundred thousand the legislative assembly may provide for 
the election of supreme and circuit judges in distinct classes, one 
of which classes shall consist of three justices of the supreme court 
who shall not perform circuit duty, and the other class shall consist 
of the necessary number of circuit judges who shall hold full terms 
without allotment, and who shall take the same oath as the supreme 
judges. 

Section 11. There shall be elected in each county, for the term 
of four years, a county judge, who shall hold the county court at 
times to be regulated by law. 

Section 12. The county court shall have the jurisdiction per- 
taining to probate courts, and boards of county commissioners, and 
such other powers and duties, and such civil jurisdiction not ex- 
ceeding the amount of value of five hundred dollars, and such 
criminal jurisdiction not extending to death or imprisonment in the 
penitentiary as may be prescribed by law. But the legislative as- 
sembly may provide for the election of two commissioners to sit 
with the county judge whilst transacting county business in any or 
all the counties, or may provide a separate board for transacting 
such business. 

Section 13. The county judge may grant preliminary injunctions 
and such other writs as the legislative assembly may authorize him 
to grant, returnable to the circuit court, or otherwise, as may be 
provided by law ; and may hear and decide questions arising upon 
habeas corpus j provided^ such decision be not against the author- 
ity or proceedings of a court or judge of equal or higher jurisdic- 
tion. 

Section 14. The counties having less than ten thousand white 
inhabitants shall be reimbursed, wholly or in part, for the salary 
and expenses of the county court, by fees, percentage, and other 
equitable taxation of the business done in said court, and in the 
office of the county clerk. 

Section 15. A county clerk shall be elected in each county for 
the term of two years, who shall keep all the public records, books, 
and papers of the county, record conveyances, and perform the 
duties of clerk of the circuit and county courts, and such other 
duties as may be prescribed by law ; but whenever the number of 



294 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

voters in any county shall exceed twelve hundred, the legislative 
assembly may authorize the election of one person as clerk of the 
circuit court, one person as clerk of the county court, and one per- 
son recorder of conveyances. 

Section i6. A sheriff shall be elected in each county for the 
term of two years, who shall be the ministerial officer of the circuit 
and county courts, and shall perform such other duties as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Section 17. There shall be elected by districts, comprised of 
one or more counties, a sufficient number of prosecuting attorneys, 
who shall be the law officers of the state, and of the counties within 
their respective districts, and shall perform such duties pertaining 
to the administration of law and general police as the legislative 
assembly may direct. 

Section 18. The legislative assembly shall so provide that the 
most competent of the permanent citizens of the county shall be 
chosen for jurors ; and out of the whole number in attendance at 
the court seven shall be chosen by lot as grand jurors, five of whom 
must concur to find an indictment. But the legislative assembly 
may modify or abohsh grand juries. 

Section 19. Public officers shall not be impeached ; but incom- 
petency, corruption, malfeasance, or delinquency in office may be 
tried in the same manner as criminal offences, and judgment maybe 
given of dismissal from office, and such further punishment as may 
have been prescribed by law. 

Section 20. The governor may remove from office a judge of the 
supreme court, or prosecuting attorney, upon the joint resolution 
of the legislative assembly, in which two thirds of the members 
elected to each house shall concur, for incompetency, corruption, 
malfeasance or delinquency in office, or other sufficient cause stated 
in such resolution. 

Section 21. Every judge of the supreme court, before entering 
upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe and transmit 
to the secretary of state the following oath : — 

" I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support 

the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the 
state of Oregon ; and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge 
the duties of a judge of the supreme and. circuit courts of said state, 
according to the best of my ability, and that I will not accept any 
other office except judicial offices during the term for which I have 
been elected." 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 295 

ARTICLE VIII. 

EDUCATION AND SCHOOL LANDS. 

Section i. The governor shall be superintendent of public in- 
struction, and his powers and duties in that capacity shall be such 
as may be prescribed by law ; but after the term of five years from 
the adoption of this constitution it shall be competent for the legis- 
lative assembly to provide by law for the election of a superin- 
tendent, to provide for his compensation, and prescribe his powers 
and duties. 

Section 2. The proceeds of all the lands which have been or 
hereafter may be granted to this state for educational purposes (ex- 
cepting the lands heretofore granted to and in the establishment of 
a university) ; all the moneys and clear proceeds of all property 
which may accrue to the state by escheat or forfeiture, all moneys 
which may be paid as exemption from military duty ; the proceeds 
of all gifts, devices, and bequests made by any person to the state 
for common school purposes ; the proceeds of all property granted 
to the state when the purposes of such grant shall not be stated ; 
all the proceeds of the five hundred thousand acres of land to which 
the state is entitled by the provisions of an act of Congress entitled 
" An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public 
lands, and to grant preemption rights, approved September 4, 1841," 
and also the five per centum of the net proceeds of the sales of 
pubhc lands to which this state shall become entitled on her admis- 
sion into the Union (if Congress shall consent to such appropriation 
of the two grants last mentioned), shall be set apart as a separate 
and irreducible fund, to be called the common school fund, the in- 
terest of which, together with all other revenues derived from the 
school land mentioned in this section, shall be exclusively applied 
to the support and maintenance of common schools in each school 
district, and the purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus 
therefor. 

Section 3. The legislative assembly shall provide bylaw for the 
establishment of a uniform and general system of common schools. 

Section 4. Provision shall be made by law for the distribution 
of the income of the common school fund among the several coun- 
ties of the state in proportion to the number of children resident 
therein between the ages of four and twenty years. 



296 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Section 5. The governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer 
shall constitute a board of commissioners for the sale of school 
and university lands, and for the investment of the funds arising 
therefrom, and their powers and duties shall be such as may be 
prescribed by law ; provided, that no part of the university funds, 
or of the interest arising therefrom, shall be expended until the 
period of ten years from the adoption of this constitution, unless 
the same shall be otherwise disposed of by the consent of Congress 
for common school Durposes. 

ARTICLE IX. 

FINANCE. 

Section i. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for 
uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation ; and shall pre- 
scribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation 
of all property, both real and personal, excepting such only for 
municipal, educational, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable 
purposes, as may be specially exempted by law. 

Section 2. The legislative assembly shall provide for raising 
revenue sufficient to defray the expenses of the state for each fiscal 
year, and also a sufficient sum to pay the interest on the state debt, 
if there be any. 

Section 3. No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law, 
and every law imposing a tax shall state distinctly the object of 
the same, to which only the same shall be applied. 

Section 4. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
pursuance of appropriations made by law. 

Section 5. An accurate statement of the receipts and expendi- 
tures of the public money shall be published with the laws of each 
regular session of the legislative assembly. 

Section 6. Whenever the expenses of any fiscal year shall ex- 
ceed the income, the legislative assembly shall provide for levying 
a tax for the ensuing fiscal year, sufficient, with other sources of 
income, to pay the deficiency, as well as the estimated expense of 
the ensuing fiscal year. 

Section 7. Laws making appropriations for the salaries of pub- 
lic officers and other current expenses of the state shall contain 
provisions upon no other subject. 

Section 8. All stationery required for the use of the state, shall 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 297 

be furnished by the lowest responsible bidder, under such regula- 
tions as may be prescribed by law. But no state officer or member 
of the legislative assembly shall be interested in any bid or contract 
for furnishing such stationery. 



ARTICLE X. 

MILITIA. 

Section i. The militia of this state shall consist of all able- 
bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five 
years, except such persons as now are or hereafter may be exempted 
by the laws of the United States or of this state. 

Section 2. Persons whose religious tenets or conscientious scru- 
ples forbid them to bear arms shall not be compelled to do so in 
time of peace, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service. 

Section 3. The governor shall appoint the adjutant-general and 
the other chief officers of the general staff and his own staff, and 
all officers of the line shall be elected by the persons subject to 
military duty in their respective districts. 

Section 4. The majors-general, brigadiers-general, colonels, or 
commandants of regiments, battalions or squadrons, shall severally 
appoint their staff officers, and the governor shall commission all 
officers of the line and staff ranking as such. 

Section 5. The legislative assembly shall fix by law the- method 
of dividing the militia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, 
and companies, and make all other needful rules and regulations in 
such manner as they may deem expedient, not incompatible with 
the constitution or laws of the United States or of the constitution 
of this state, and shall fix the rank of all staff officers. 

ARTICLE XI. 

CORPORATIONS AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

Section i. The legislative assembly shall not have the power to 
establish or incorporate any bank or banking company or moneyed 
institution whatever ; nor shall any bank, company or institution 
exist in the state with the privilege of making, issuing or putting 
into circulation any bill, check, certificate, promissory note, or other 
paper, or the paper of any bank, company or person, to circulate as 
money. 



298 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Section 2. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but 
shall not be created by special laws, except for municipal pur- 
poses. All laws passed pursuant to this section may be altered, 
amended or repealed, but not so as to impair or destroy any vested 
corporate rights. 

Section 3. The stockholders of all corporations and joint stock 
companies shall be liable for the indebtedness of said corpora- 
tion to the amount of their stock subscribed and unpaid, and no 
more. 

Section 4. No person's property shall be taken by any corpora- 
tion, under authority of law, without compensation being first made 
or secured, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Section 5. Acts of legislative assembly incorporating towns and 
cities shall restrict their powers of taxation, borrowing money, con- 
tracting debts, and loaning their credit. 

Section 6. The state shall not subscribe to or be interested in 
the stock of any company, association or corporation. 

Section 7. The legislative assembly shall not loan the credit of 
the state, nor in any manner create any debt or liabilities which 
shall singly or in the aggregate with previous debts or liabilities 
exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars, except in case of war, 
or to repel invasion or suppress insurrection ; and every contract 
of indebtedness entered into or assumed by or on behalf of the 
state, when all its liabilities and debts amount to said sum, shall 
be void and of no effect. 

Section 8. The state shall never assume the debts of any county, 
town, or other corporation whatever, unless such debts shall have 
been created to repel invasion, suppress insurrection or defend the 
state in war. 

Section 9. No county, city, town, or other municipal corpora- 
tion, by vote of its citizens or otherwise, shall become a stockholder 
in any joint stock company, corporation or association whatever, to 
raise money for, or loan its credit to or in aid of any such company, 
corporation or associatioii. 

Section 10. No county shall create any debts or liabilities which 
shall singly or in the aggregate exceed the sum of five thousand 
dollars, except to suppress insurrection or repel invasion; but the 
debts of any county, at the time this constitution takes effect, shall 
be disregarded in estimating the sum to which such county is 
limited. 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 299 

ARTICLE XII. 

STATE PRINTER. 

Section i. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of 
the state, at the times and places of choosing members of the legis- 
lative assembly, a state printer, who shall hold office for the term 
of four years. He shall perform all the public printing for the state 
which ma)^ be provided by law. The rates to be paid to him for 
such printing shall be fixed by law, and shall neither be increased 
nor diminished during the term for which he shall have been 
elected. He shall give such security for the performance of his 
duties as the legislative assembly may provide. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

SALARIES. 

Section i. The governor shall receive an annual salary of fifteen 
hundred dollars. The secretary of state shall receive an annual 
salary of fifteen hundred dollars. The treasurer of state shall re- 
ceive an annual salary of eight hundred dollars. The judges of the 
supreme court shall each receive an annual salary of two thousand 
dollars. They shall receive no fees or perquisites whatever for the 
performance of any duties connected with their respective offices j 
and the compensation of officers, if not fixed by this constitution, 
shall be provided by law. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 

Section i. The legislative assembly shall not have power to 
establish a permanent seat of government for this state. But at 
the first regular session after the adoption of this constitution, the 
legislative assembly shall provide by law for the submission to the 
electors of this state, at the next general election thereafter, 
the matter of the selection of a place for a permanent seat of gov- 
ernment ; and no place shall ever be the seat of government under 
such law which shall not receive a majority of all the votes cast on 
the matter of such election. 



300 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Note. — By act of October 19, i860, the location of the seat of government was sub- 
mitted to the popular vote at the next general election in June, 1862, and every general 
election thereafter, until "some one point " should receive a majority of all the votes cast 
upon the question. At the election in 1862, Eugene received the most votes, but no point 
received a majority of all the votes cast. At the election in 1864, Salem received 6108 
votes, Portland 3S64 votes, Eugene 1588 votes, and .all other places 577 votes; Salem 
received 79 majority of the vi^hole vote cast, whereupon Salem was duly declared " the 
permanent seat of government." 

Section 2. No tax shall be levied, or money of the state ex- 
pended, or debt contracted for the erection of a state house prior to 
the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five. 

Section 3. The seat of government, when established as pro- 
vided in section one, shall not be removed for the term of twenty 
years from the time of such establishment ; nor in any other man- 
ner than as provided in the first section of this article ; provided^ 
that all the public institutions of the state, hereafter provided for 
by the legislative assembly, shall be located at the seat of govern- 
ment. 



ARTICLE XV. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Section t. All officers, except members of the legislative assem- 
bly, shall hold their offices until their successors are elected and 
qualified. 

Section 2. When the duration of any office is not provided 
for by this constitution, it may be declared by law ; and if not 
so declared, such office shall be held during the pleasure of the 
authority making the appointment. But the legislative assembly 
shall not create any office, the tenure of which shall be longer than 
four years. 

Section 3. Every person elected or appointed to any office under 
the constitution shall, before entering on the duties thereof , take an 
oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States, 
and of this state, and also an oath of office. 

Section 4. Lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, for any pur- 
pose whatever, are prohibited, and the legislative assembly shall 
prevent the same by penal laws. 

Section 5. The property and pecuniary rights of every married 
woman, at the time of marriage, or afterward acquired by gift, devise 
or inheritance, shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of the 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 301 

husband ; and laws shall be passed providing for the registration of 
the wife's separate property. 

Section 6. No county shall be reduced to an area of less than 
four hundred square miles ; nor shall any new county be established 
in this state containing a less area, nor unless such new county shall 
contain a population of at least twelve hundred inhabitants. 

Section 7. No state officer or member of the legislative assembly 
shall directly or indirectly receive a fee, or be engaged as counsel, 
agent or attorney in the prosecution of any claim against this state. 

Section 8. No Chinaman, not a resident of the state at the adop- 
tion of this constitution, shall ever hold any real estate or mining 
claim, or work any mining claim therein. 

The legislative assembly shall provide by law in the most effec- 
tual manner for carrying out the above provisions. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

BOUNDARIES. 

Section i. In order that the boundaries of the state may be 
known and established, it is hereby ordained and declared that the 
state of Oregon shall be bounded as follows, to wit : 

Beginning one marine league at sea, due west from the point 
where the forty-second parallel of north latitude intersects the same ; 
thence northerly at the same distance from the line of the coast 
lying west and opposite the state, including all islands within the 
jurisdiction of the United States, to a point due west and opposite 
the middle of the north ship channel of the Columbia river ; thence 
easterly to and up the middle channel of said river, and when it is 
divided by islands, up the middle of the widest channel thereof, [and 
in like manner up the middle of the main channel of Snake river] 
to the mouth of the Owyhee river ; thence due south to the parallel 
of latitude forty-two degrees north ; thence west along said parallel 
to the place of beginning, including jurisdiction in civil and crim- 
inal cases upon the Columbia river and Snake river, concurrently 
with states and territories of which those rivers form a boundary in 
common with this state. But the Congress of the United States, in 
providing for the admission of this state into the Union, may make 
the said northern boundary conform to the act creating the territory 
of Washington. [See note.] 



302 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Note. — The act of February 14, 1859 (11 Stat. 383), admitting Oregon into the Union, 
changed this proposed boundary by substituting the following description for that con- 
tained in the words inclosed in brackets: " to a point near Fort Walla Walla, where the 
46th parallel of north latitude crosses said river ; thence east on said parallel to the middle 
of the main channel of the Shoshone or Snake river ; thence up the middle of the main 
channel of said river." 



ARTICLE XVII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section i. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution 
may be proposed in either branch of the legislative assembly, and 
if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members 
elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or 
amendments shall, with the yeas and nays thereon, be entered on 
their journals, and referred to the legislative assembly to be chosen 
at the next general election ; and if, in the legislative assembly so 
next chosen, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be 
agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, 
then it shall be the duty of the legislative assembly to submit such 
amendment or amendments to the electors of the state, and cause 
the same to be published without delay at least four consecu- 
tive weeks in several newspapers pubHshed in this state ; and if a 
majority of said electors shall ratify the same, such amendment or 
amendments shall become a part of this constitution. 

Section 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted in 
such manner, that the electors shall vote for or against each of such 
amendments separately ; and while an amendment or amendments 
shall have been agreed upon by one legislative assembly, shall be 
awaiting the action of a legislative assembly, or of the electors, no 
additional amendment or amendments shall be proposed. 

ARTICLE XVIII. 

SCHEDULE. 

Section i. For the purpose of taking the vote of the electors of 
the state for the acceptance or rejection of this constitution, an 
election shall be held on the second Monday of November, in the 
year 1857, to be conducted according to existing laws regulating 
the election of delegate in Congress, so far as applicable, exgept 
herein otherwise provided. 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 303 

Section 2. Each elector who offers to vote upon this constitu- 
tion shall be asked by the judges of election this question: 

Do you vote for the constitution — yes, or no ? 

And also this question : 

Do you vote for slavery in Oregon — yes, or no? 

And also this question : 

Do you vote for free negroes in Oregon — yes, or no ? 

And in the poll books shall be columns headed respectively, 
" constitution, yes ; " " constitution, no ; " " free negroes, yes ;'^" free 
negroes, no ; " " slavery, yes ; " " slavery, no." 

And the names of the electors shall be entered in the poll books, 
together with their answers to the said questions, under their ap- 
propriate heads. The abstracts of the votes transmitted to the 
secretary of the territory, shall be publicly opened and canvassed 
by the governor and secretary, or by either of them in absence of 
the other ; and the governor, or in his absence the secretary, shall 
forthwith issue his proclamation, and publish the same in the sev- 
eral newspapers printed in this state, declaring the result of the 
said election upon each of said questions. 

Section 3. If a majority of all the votes given for and against 
the constitution shall be given for the constitution, then this con- 
stitution shall be deemed to be approved and accepted by the elec- 
tors of the state, and shall take effect accordingly ; and if a major- 
ity of such votes shall be given against the constitution, then this 
constitution shall be deemed to be rejected by the electors of the 
state, and shall be void. 

Section 4. If this constitution shall be accepted by the electors, 
and a majority of all the votes given for and against slavery shall 
be given for slavery, then the following section shall be added to 
the bill of rights, and shall be part of this constitution : 

"Section — . Persons lawfully held as slaves in any state, ter- 
ritory, or district of the United States under the laws thereof, may 
be brought into this state ; and such slaves and their descendants 
may be held as slaves within this state, and shall not be emanci- 
pated without the consent of their owners." 

And if a majority of such votes shall be given against slavery ; 
then the foregoing section shall not, but the following section shall 
be added to the bill of rights, and shall be a part of this constitution : 

"Section — . There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary 
servitude in the state, otherwise than as a punishment for crime, 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." 



304 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

And if a majority of all the votes given for and against free 
negroes shall be given against free negroes, then the following 
section shall be added to the bill of rights, and shall be a part of 
this constitution : 

" Section — . No free negro or mulatto, not residing in this 
state at tjie time of the adoption of this constitution^ shall come, 
reside, or be within this state, or hold any real estate, or make any 
contracts, or maintain any suit therein ; and the legislative assem- 
bly slmll provide by penal laws for the removal by public officers 
of all such negroes and mulattoes, and for their effectual exclusion 
from the state, and for the punishment of persons who shall bring 
them into the state, or employ or harbor them." 

Section 5. Until an enumeration of the white inhabitants of the 
state shall be made, and the senators and representatives appor- 
tioned as directed in the constitution, the county of Marion shall 
have two senators and four representatives ; Lane, two senators 
and three representatives; Clackamas and Wasco one senator 
jointly, and Clackamas three representatives, and Wasco one re- 
presentative ; Yamhill, one senator and two representatives ; Polk, 
one senator and two representatives ; Benton, one senator and two 
representatives ; Multnomah, one senator and two representatives ; 
Washington, Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook, one senator jointly, 
and Washington one representative, and Washington and Columbia 
one representative jointly, and Clatsop and Tillamook one repre- 
sentative jointly ; Douglas, one senator and two representatives ; 
Jackson, one senator and three representatives ; Josephine, one 
senator and one representative ; Umpqua, Coos and Curry, one 
senator jointly, and Umpqua one representative, and Coos and 
Curry one representative jointly. 

Section 6. If this constitution shall be ratified, an election shall 
be held on the first Monday in June, 1858, for the election of mem- 
bers of the legislative assembly, a representative in Congress and 
state and county officers, and the legislative assembly shall convene 
at the capital on the first Monday of July, 1858, and proceed to 
elect two senators in Congress, and make such further provision as 
may be necessary to the complete organization of a state govern- 
ment. 

Section 7. All laws in force in the territory of Oregon when 
this constitution takes effect, and consistent therewith, shall con- 
tinue in force until altered or repealed. 

Section 8. All officers of the territory of Oregon, or under its 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 305 

laws when this constitution takes effect, shall continue in office 
until superseded by the state authorities. 

Section 9. Crimes and misdemeanors committed against the 
territory of Oregon shall be punished by the state as they might 
have been punished by the territory if the change of government 
had not been made. 

Section 10. All property and rights of the territory and of the 
several counties, subdivisions and political bodies corporate of or 
in the territory, including fines, penalties, forfeitures, debts and 
claims of whatsoever nature, and recognizances, obligations and 
undertakings to or for the use of the territory or any county, polit- 
ical corporation, office or otherwise to or for the public, shall enure 
to the state, or remain to the county, local division, corporation, 
officer or public as if the change of government had not been 
made ; and private rights shall not be affected by such change. 

Section 11. Until otherwise provided by law, the judicial dis- 
tricts of the state shall be constituted as follows : The counties of 
Jackson, Josephine and Douglas shall constitute the first district; 
the counties of Umpqua, Coos and Curry, Lane and Benton shall 
constitute the second district ; the counties of Linn, Marion, Polk, 
Yamhill and Washington shall constitute the third district; the 
counties of Clackamas, Multnomah, Wasco, Columbia, Clatsop and 
Tillamook shall constitute the fourth district; and the county of 
Tillamook shall be attached to the county of Clatsop for judicial 
purposes. 
Done in convention at Salem the i8th day of September, in the year 

of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and of 

the independence of the United States the eighty-second. 

Names of delegates to constitutional convention : 

Matthew P. Deady, President. 

Chester N. Terry, Secretary. 

M. C. Barkwell, Assistant Secretary 

BENTON COUNTY. 

Henry B. Nichols. Haman C. Lewis. 

Wm. Matzger. John Kelsay. 

CLACKAMAS COUNTY. 

J. K. Kelly. Hector Campbell. 

A. L. Lovejoy. Nathaniel Robbins. 

Wm. A. Starkweather. 



306 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 



CLATSOP COUNTY. 

Cyrus Olney. 

CURRY COUNTY. 

Wm. H. Packwood. 

COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

John W. Watts. 

coos COUNTY. 

Perry B. Marple. 

DOUGLAS COUNTY. 

Matthew P. Deady. 
Stephen F. Chadwick. 

JOSEPHINE COUNTY. 

L. B. Hendershott. 

L. J. C. Duncan. 
John H. Reed. 

Delazon Smith. 
Luther Elkins. 
Reuben S. Coyle. 

Paul Brattain. 
L R. Moores. 
A. J. CampbelL 

L. F. Grover. 
Geo. H. WilHams. 
Davis Shannon. 
Nicholas Shrum. 



JACKSON COUNTY. 



LINN COUNTY. 



LANE COUNTY. 



MARION COUNTY. 



Solomon Fitzhugh. 
Thomas Whitted. 



Wm. H. Watkins. 

Daniel Newcomb. 
P. P. Prim. 

John T. Brooks. 
James Shields. 
J. H. Brattain. 

Jesse Cox. 

W. W. Bristow. 

E. Hoult. 

Joseph Cox. 
Richard Miller. 
John C. Peebles. 



MULTNOMAH COUNTY. 



S. J. McCormick. 
Wm. H. Farrar. 



David Logan. 



MULTNOMAH AND WASHINGTON. 

Thomas J. Dryer. 



STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON 



307 



Reuben P. Boise. 
Benj. F. Burch. 



Jesse Applegate. 

E. D. Shattuck. 
John S. White. 



POLK COUNTY. 
POLK AND TILLAMOOK. 

A. D. Babcock. 

UMPQUA COUNTY. 
WASHINGTON COUNTY. 



F. Waymire. 



Levi Scott. 



Levi Anderson. 



WASCO COUNTY. 

C. R. Meigs. 

YAMHILL COUNTY. 



J. R. McBride. 
R. V. Short. 



R. C. Kinney. 
W. Olds. 



Note. — The convention of delegates reported the constitution as duly framed on Sep- 
tember 18, 1857, and on November 9, 1857, the people of Oregon at a general election cast 
7195 votes in favor of the new constitution and 3195 against it, thus approving it by a 
majority vote of 4000. It was believed that Congress would soon admit Oregon as a state. 
Communication with the national capital was very slow, requiring many weeks, and the 
people waited impatiently for the news of admission of Oregon as a state. At the spring 
election in 1858 a complete list of officers from the governor down, including members of 
the legislature, were elected for the proposed new state, and the legislature held a session. 
Still no news oi the admission of Oregon came from the national capital. Two years and 
three months after the adoption of the constitution by the people the act creating Oregon 
state took effect and the state organization of Oregon officially came into existence. 

Note. — In all books and printed lists of names of delegates and officers who framed the 
constitution of the state of Oregon the name of M. C. Barkwell, assistant secretary, does 
not appear, but it is signed to the original copy of the constitution on file in the depart- 
ment of state and therefore is printed in this list. Chester N. Terry, secretary, and M. C. 
Barkwell, assistant secretary, were not members of the convention. 



308 GOVERNMENT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 
OUTLINES AND QUESTIONS 

FOR STUDYING THE STATE CONSTITUTION OF OREGON ^ 

1. The Bill of Rights, Article I. 

a. Compare its length with that of the Bill of Rights in the Con- 
stitution of the United States (see first ten amendments). 

b. What topics in the United States Bill of Rights are found in 
expanded form in the Oregon Bill of Rights ? 

c. What topics in the Oregon Bill of Rights are not treated in 
the United States Bill of Rights ? 

d. What topics found in the Oregon document are also found in 
the Declaration of Independence or the Ordinance of 1787? 

e. What is peculiar about each of the sections 15, 20, 30, 31, 32, 
and 35 ? 

2. The Legislative Department, Article IV. 

a. What is pecuUar about the last clause of sec. 2? 

b. Sec. 2 fixes a maximum number for the membership of the 
Senate and House. Has that maximum been attained.-* 

c. Note the restriction on the creation of senatorial districts, sees. 
6 and 7. What was its probable object ? 

d. Do Oregon senators and representatives have any privileges 
which members of Congress do not have ? Compare sec. 9 and 
Constitution of the United States, Art. I., sec. vi. 

e. Explain the importance of sec. 20 and last clause of sec. 19. 
/. Justify the prohibition of local or special laws. See Sec. 23. 
g. Is there any limitation on the length of legislative sessions? 

3. The Executive Department, Article V. 

a. Does " highest number " of votes, sec. 5, mean a majority ? 

b. Is the provision for the succession, sec. 8, the usual one ? 

c. Compare sec. 15 with Art. I., sec. vii. of the Constitution of 
the United States, and note differences. 

4. The Judicial Department, Article VII. 

a. Note the relation between the supreme and circuit courts, 
sees. 2 and 8. Compare national system as described in ch. xviii. 

b. But what has been the effect of sec. 10 ? 

c. Oregon is the only state that does not impeach officers. But 
what substitute for impeachment is provided.? See sec. 19. 

1 These outlines should be used to supplement the general outlines for state at end of 
Part III, 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Adams, Samuel, promotes union among 
the colonies, 139. 

Albany Convention, 135. 

Amendments to the Constitution, the first 
ten, 154, 223 ; the fifteenth, 166 ; the 
fourteenth, 167; the twelfth, 194; the 
sixth, 212 ; how made, 222 ; text of, 240- 
244. 

Annapolis Convention, 148. 

Assemblies, representative, in royal colo- 
nies, 97. 

Assessor, of a town, 23, 39 note; of a 
county, 33 ; pay of town, 41. 
« 

Bill of Rights, in the Virginia Constitu- 
tion, 108-110; in the Federal Constitu- 
tion, 154, 223. 

Borough, its origin, and its control by a 
corporation, 14. 

Boston, its town government, 69 ; becomes 
a city, 70. 

Burgesses, House of, 19. 

Cabinet, the President's, how composed, 
200; compared to the English, 201. 

Canton, a German political division, 7. 

Cavaliers, in Virginia, 130. 

Charters, early civic, 14 ; modern city, 6g- 
78 ; those granted the colonies, 100. 

Chicago, its remarkable growth, 66; its 
first charter, 76 ; later charters, 77, 78. 

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, must 
preside at an impeachment, 183. 

Cities, forces which led to their formation, 
61-65 j commerce, 62 ; manufacturing, 
63 ; trade with the interior, 64 ; their un- 
exampled growth, 66 ; difficult problem 
of their government, 67 ; Boston city 
government, 71 ; city charter of Phila- 
delphia, 72-76 ; of Chicago, 76-78 ; or- 
ganization of modern city governments, 
80-82 ; reasons for difficulties in govern- 
ing, 82 ; corruption in the governments of, 
85 ; remedy for bad city governments, 86, 
87 ; necessity for attention to municipal 
affairs by respectable citizens, 88. 

Clerk, town, 22; county, 34; pay of town, 
41. 

Coinage of money, controlled by Congress, 
186. 

Colony, use of the word, 93 ; identical with 
the church in the Puritan settlements, 
94 ; as distinguished from a state, 104. 
{See English Colonies.) 

Commerce, its effect on city growth, 61, 62, 



64, 65 ; troubles over, bring about the 
Federal Constitution, 147. 

Commons, House of, how chosen, its 
power, II, 12. 

Confederation, Articles of, 142 ; weakness 
of the government under, 144. 

Congress of the United States, its lack of 
power under the Confederation, 143, 145 ; 
first, under the Constitution, 154; the 
question of two branches, 172; method 
of representation in, 173; apportionment 
of representatives, 175 ; suffrage and 
election districts, 177; organization of 
the upper branch, 182 ; sessions of, 184 ; 
powers of, 185 ; implied powers, 188 ; 
checks on, 189; cannot suspend writ of 
habeas corpus except in rebellions or in- 
vasions, 215; cannot levy export duties 
but controls all appropriations, 216. {See 
Senate and Representatives, House of.) 

Connecticut, early written constitution, 142. 

Constables, 39 note. 

Constitution, origin of the written, 141; diffi- ' 
culties in forming the United States, 147 ; 
opposition to, 151 ; ratified, 152; put into 
effect, 154; difficulty of adjusting power 
between state and nation, 161 ; three de- 
partments of government under, 162 ; 
delegated and implied powers, 163 ; a 
growth, not a creation, 164 ; the unwritten 
additions to it, 166 ; the document itself 
merely a framework, 168 ; its provisions 
for a congress, 172-190 {See Congress, 
Senate, and Representatives, House of); 
for an executive, 191-203 {See Presi- 
dent and Cabinet) ; for a Judiciary, 205- 
214 {See Courts); other provisions of, 
215-224; does not follow the flag, 222; 
text of, 227-239. 

Continental Congress, recommends state 
governments, 103, 104; extent of its 
power, 106; the first, 139; the second, 
its assumption of authority, 140. 

Conventions. See Albany, Annapolis, Fed- 
eral, and Party. 

Coroner, 33. 

Correspondence, Committees of, 102, 139. 

Council, the governor's, in a royal colony, 
97; in a proprietary colony, 98; in Vir- 
ginia, under the first constitution, 113. 

County, its origin, 9; its government in 
England in 1600, 14, 15 ; imitated in 
the English Colonies, _ 18 ; form it as- 
sumed in Virginia, 20 ; in Massachusetts, 
23 ; early form in Oregon, 29-31 ; present 



312 



INDEX 



form and officers, 31-34 ; its form in Wis- 
consin, 41, 42 ; the best unite for road 
management, 55. 

County Commissioners, in Oregon, 29. 

County Court, 9 ; in 1600, 15 ; in early 
Virginia, 20; in Massachusetts, 23; in 
Oregon, 29. 

County Judge, in Oregon, 31. 

County palatine, 98. 

Courts of the United States, provision for, 
in the Constitution, 207 ; classes of, 208 ; 
kind of cases tried by, 209-211. 

Declaration of Independence, its meaning, 
and importance to the country, 104-106. 

Delegates, House of, iii. 

Departments, executive, in the Federal 
Government, 199. 

Edward I. and Parliament, 12. 

Electoral College, 193, 197, 198. 

England, Church of, in tlae southern Amer- 
ican colonies, 129. 

English Colonies, earliest, in America, 17 ; 
resembled in organization the counties of 
England, 18; their smaller political sub- 
divisions, 19 ; difference of development 
in Massachusetts and Virginia, 20-24 ; 
expansions of their institutions, in two 
currents, 25-28; character of the New 
England, 93 ; increased number of towns 
in, 94, 95 ; development of the southern, 
95 ; experiments in governing the early, 
p6 ; method in the royal colonies, 96, 97 ; 
m proprietary colonies, 98, 99 ; in charter 
colonies, 99, 100 ; comparison of their 
government with that of England, xoo. 
Id ; their attitude toward Parliament, 
loi ; conversion of their governments 
into state governments, 102-104 ; their 
separation at first, 127 ; religious differ- 
ences, 128; race differences, 129; Puri- 
tans and cavaliers, 130 : lack of inter- 
course among, 131 ; different political 
conditions, 132; early dangers to, 133; 
attempts at union, 134; differences of opin- 
ion between England and America, 136; 
progress of union, 158; continental con- 
gresses, 140. 

English Government, just after the Saxon 
conquest, 8; in the 13th century, 11, 12; 
in 1600, 13, 14. 

English Language, its development, 2. 

Executive Department, in cities, 81 {See 
Mayor) ; under the first Virginia consti- 
tution, III ; growth in the power of, 113 ; 
in states at present, 118; in the Federal 
government, 191-203 {See President and 
Cabinet). 

Federal Convention, its meeting, 149 ; 
plans of government submitted, 150 ; dis- 
sensions, 151 ; its unauthorized acts, 152. 

" Federalist, The," 153. 

Fence- viewer, 23. 

Fiske, John, quotation from, 141. 

Franklin, Benjamin, his post system, 131; 
his plan of colonial union at Albany, 136 ; 



submits a plan of government to the Con- 
tinental Congress, 141; at the Federal 
convention, 149 ; anecdote of, 154. 
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, first 
written constitution, 142. 

Germans, their territory and condition in 
the first century, 3; conquer Rome, 4; 
their political system, 5 ; villages, 6; can- 
tons and tribes, 7 ; settlement in Britain 
and changes in the political system, 8. 

" Gerrymandering," 178. 

Government, the result of growth, i ; rise 
of representative, 9 ; early form of na- 
tional, 10; local in 1600, 13 ; imported to 
America, 17; Virginia county, 20; of a 
township, 22 ; of an Oregon county, 31 ; 
of a Wisconsin township, 36 ; of certain 
cities, 69 ; of cities generally, 80 ; of colo- 
nies, 96 ; first state, 108 ; separation of, 
into three departments, 111, 115; general 
features in states at present, 117 ; general 
success in states, 120 ; the Federal, 160 
et seq. 

Governor, his office and power in royal 
colonies, 97 ; in proprietary colonies, 98 ; 
chosen by legislature under the Virginia 
Constitution of 1776, 112; growth in his 
power, 113; under present state consti- 
tutions, 118. 

Great Charter, 11, 142. 

Habeas Corpus, writ of, cannot be sus- 
pended by Congress except in case of re- 
bellion or invasion, 2x5. 

Hamilton, Alexander, his exertion in behalf 
of the Federal Constitution, 148, 151, 153 ; 
charged with trying to erect a monarchy, 
172. 

Hooker, Thomas, author of the first written 
constitution in Connecticut, 142. _ 

Hundred, a Germanic political division, 8 ; 
disappears, 14. 

Impeachment, method of procedure, 183; 

president subject to, 202. 
Implied powers, under the Constitution, 

164, 188. 

Jefferson, Thomas, his " Summary View of 
the Rights of the Colonies," loi ; his 
opposition to John Marshall, 166 ; anec- 
dote of Washington and, 173. 

John, King, and the Barons, 11. 

Judicial Department, in cities, 82 ; under 
the first Virginia Constitution, 114; in 
state governments at present, 119; in the 
Federal government, 205-214; its impor- 
tance, 205 ; provisions for in the Consti- 
tution, 206 ; its jurisdiction, 209-211 ; the 
Supreme Court, 213. {See Courts.) 

Jury, origin of the, 13 ; trial by, required by 
the United States Constitution, 212. 

Justices of the peace, 15, 39 note; of the 
Supreme Court, 208. 

Land surveys, 44. 

Legislative department, in cities, 80; in 



INDEX 



313 



colonies, 97 ; under the first Virginia con- 
stitution, in; in state governments at 
present, 118; in the Federal government, 
172-190 {See Congress, Senate, and Re- 
presentatives, House of). 
Lords, House of, 12. 

Madison, James, his efforts in behalf of the 
Federal Constitution, 148, 150, 151, 153 ; 
his views on the judiciary, 207. 

Magna Charta, 11, 142. 

Manufacturing, its tendency to encourage 
the growth of cities, 63. 

Marshall, Chief Justice, established the 
doctrine of implied powers, 164; and of 
derivation of power from the people di- 
rect, i6g ; his services to the country, 214. 

Maryland, its government under Lord Bal- 
timore, 98, 99 ; Catholics in, 128. 

Massachusetts, founded, 17; conditions fa- 
vorable to formation of townships, 21 ; 
counties in, 23 ; a charter colony, 100 ; its 
conversion into a state, 102, 103. 

Mayflower Compact, 142. 

Mayor, under the Boston charters, 71, 72 ; 
in Philadelphia, 74 ; growth of his power 
there, 76 ; in Chicago, 77, 78 ; in cities 
generally, 81 ; increase of his power as a 
remedy for corruption, 87. 

Message, the President's, 202. 

Naturalization, 186. 

New England Confederation, 134. 

New Hampshire, colonial government, 97 ; 
its organization as a state, 103. 

New Haven, Republic of, 95. 

New Jersey Plan, in the Federal conven- 
tion, 150. 

New York city, its remarkable growth, 65 . 

New York State, organization of, as a 
state, 102 ; Dutch settlers in, 129. 

Nomination of President, how accom- 
plished, 196, 197. 

North Carolina, Scotch-Irish settlers in, 

ISO- 
North Dakota, length of its constitution, 
116; reasons for this, 117. 

Ordinance of 1787, 45. 

Oregon, early form of county in, 29-31; 

county commissioners and judge in, 3 1 ; 

sheriff, 32; other county officers, 33, 

34- 

Paine, Thomas, his pamphlets, 103, and 
note. 

Parish, developed from the town, 13, 14, 
and note. 

Parliament, the English {See also Commons 
and Lords), its formation, 12 ; its claims 
of supremacy in America, loi. 

Party Conventions, for nominating candi- 
dates, 196, 197. 

Patent Office, entrusted to Congress, 188. 

Penn, William, powers granted to, 99 ; his 
scheme of colonial union, 135. 

Pennsylvania, proprietary government in, 
99. 



" People, The,'' meaning of the expression 
in the Constitution, 163 note, 179. 

Philadelphia, largest American city in 1790, 
66 ; its government under the charter of 
1701, 72, 73 ; charter of 1789, 74, 75 ; char- 
ter of 1854 and 1887, 76. 

Post Office system, entrusted to Congress, 
187. 

Pound-keeper, 23. 

President of the United States, his power, 
191 ; questions with regard to, in the 
Federal convention, 192 ; method of elect- 
ing, 193, 194 ; is now a strict party man, 
195 ; nominated in a party convention, 
196 ; power in war-time, 198 ; eligibility 
and salary, 199 ; his responsibility, 201 ; 
duties and powers, 202. 

Public Schools, land reserved for, 45 ; man- 
agement of, 46 ; necessity for, in Amer- 
ica, 48 ; origin and defects of the district 
system, 49 ; township system of manage- 
ment, 50. 

Puritans, their position in England, 93, 94 ; 
their religious troubles in America, 128 ; 
as distinct from cavaliers, 131. 

Quakers, an element of difference in the 

colonies, 129. 
Quarter Sessions, 15. 

Religion, differences in, among the English 
colonists, 128. 

Representative Government, origin, g, 10; 
its extension to national affairs, 10, 11; 
dependent on the power to levy taxes, 11, 
12 ; its appearance in the jury system, 13. 

Representatives, House of, how elected, 
173; how apportioned, 175; originates all 
revenue bills, 176; term of office and 
qualifications, 178 ; basis of representa- 
tion, 180 ; its presiding officer, 181 ; only 
body that can impeach, 183. 

Rhode Island, 95. 

Roads, importance of good, 51 ; skill re- 
quired in locating, 53 ; in constructing, 
54 ; remedies for bad, 55. 

School Superintendent, in the Oregon 
county, 33. 

Schools. See Public Schools. 

Selectmen, of a town, 22. 

Senate, represents the states, 174; cannot 
originate revenue bills, 176; its compo- 
sition, 181 ; presiding officer, 183 ; the 
court for impeachment, 183 ; its executive 
functions, 202. 

Sheriff, in early Virginia, 30 ; in the Oregon 
county, 32. _ 

Shire, its origin as a political division in 
England, 9. 

Slavery, constitutional compromises regard- 
ing, 175, 176. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
181. 

Stamp Act Congress, 137. 

States, conversion of colonies into, 102- 
104 ; exact definition of, 105 ; the relation 
of states and the nation, 106 ; early con- 



314 



INDEX 



stitutions of, as illustrated by Virginia, 
108-115; later constitutions, 116; general 
features of present state governments, 
117; powers of nation and, adjusted, 161 ; 
prohibitions laid upon, by the United 
States Constitution, 216 ; rights and duties 
under the Constitution, 217 ; guaranteed a 
republican government, 2 18 ; admission 
of new states into the Union, 221. 

Supervisors, board of, 38, 39 note. 

Supreme Court of the United States, 207 ; 
appointment, salary, and tenure of oflSce, 
208 ; its power and influence, 213. 

Surveyor, County, 34. 

Tacitus, his description of the Germans, 3. 

Taxation, power of, retained by early Ger- 
man freemen, 11 ; in New England towns, 
22 ; value of the control of in royal colo- 
nies, ^7 ; opposition to parliamentary, in 
Amenca, loi ; Congress granted power of, 
185. 

Territorial system of the United States, 219. 

Town Meetmg, 22; in Wisconsin, 38; its 
importance, 41 ; of Boston, 69. 

Township, its derivation, 8 ; its evolution 
into the parish, 13, 14 ; its form in Massa- 
chusetts, 22 ; development of in Wiscon- 
sin, 36-42 ; recent tendency toward this 
form of government, 43, 

Township government, in early Massa- 
chusetts, 22 ; in Wisconsin, 40 ; as ex- 
emplified in early Boston, 69. 

Treason, under the United States Constitu- 
tion, 212. 

Treasurer, town, 23, 40, 41 ; county, 33. 

Union among Colonies, hindered by reli- 
gious differences, 128 ; by race differences, 
129 ; by social differences, 130 ; by lack 
of intercourse, 131 ; causes for, 133 ; early 
attempts at, 134 ; the New England Con- 
federation, 134 ; the Albany Convention, 
13s ; Stamp Act Congress, 137 ; circular 



letter and Committees of Correspondence 
as machinery for, 138 ; Continental Con- 
gresses, 140 ; its accomplishment with a 
written constitution, 141 ; nature of, under 
the Constitution, 168 ; becomes irrevoc- 
able, 169. 
United States, their expansion across the 
continent, 25-28 ; their first union, 142 ; 
genesis of the Constitution, 150 ; dual 
government of, 160 ; nature of their union 
and source of their power, 169, 170 ; their 
union indestructible, 170; territorial sys- 
tem, 219 ; admission of new states, 221. 

Vestrymen, in Virginia, 20. 

Veto, mayor of Boston's, 72 ; mayor of Chi- 
cago's, 78 ; in present city charters, 8i ; of 
the governor of Virginia, 113; of the 
President of the United States, 185. 

Vice-President of the United States, pre- 
sides in the Senate, 183 ; method of elect- 
ing in the electoral college, 194 ; how 
nominated, 196, 197. 

Village system, the German, 5 ; common 
fields in, 6 ; local government, 6, 7. 

Virginia, founded, 17 ; effect of tobacco 
growing on its political development, 19 ; 
parishes in, 20; county governments in, 
20, 21; method of growth in, 95; adop- 
tion of her constitution, 108 ; her " Bill 
of Rights," 109 ; frame of government, 
111-114; cavaliers in, 130. 

Virginia Plan, 'in the Federal convention, 
ISO, 174. 

Washington, George, his efforts in behalf 
of the Federal Constitution, 147, 149, 151 ; 
inaugurated President, 154; anecdote of 
Jefferson and, 173. 

Wisconsin, Massachusetts township organi- 
zation in, 36-41 ; the Town Meeting, 38- 
41 ; connection of town and county, 41, 
42. 

Witan,^he, 10. 



INDEX TO THE GROWTH OF CIVIL GOV- 
ERNMENT IN OREGON 



AstOi*, John Jacob, his early trade in Ore- 
gon, 251. 

Columbia River, explored and named, 
249 ; suggested as a boundary, 255. 

Constitutions of Oregon, first organic law, 
261-268; provisional, 269-276 ; state, 277. 

Fur Trade, in early Oregon, 251 ; its effect 
on our history, 252. 

Gray, Captain Robert, discovers the Co- 
lumbia River, 249. 

Hudson's Bay Company, in Oregon, 251 ; 
only government in the territory at first, 
255- 

Lane, General Joseph, puts the territorial 
government of Oregon into operation, 

259- 
Lewis and Clark Expedition, 249. 
Louisiana Purchase, 248. 

McLoughlin, Dr. John, establishes Fort 
Vancouver, 251 ; the " Father of Ore- 
gon," 252 ; his government, 255, 256. 

Meek, Joe, first Oregon sheriff, 258. 

Mississippi Valley, early settlers in, 247. 

Ohio Valley, contest over, between French 
and English, 248. 



Oregon, ground of the United States claim to, 
249 ; Russian and Spanish rights acquired 
by the United States, 250 ; trading in, 251 ; 
coming of the pioneer, 252; its occupa- 
tion by American settlers, 254 ; title to 
acknowledged by Great Britain, 255 •, 
first provisional government, 256 ; op- 
posed by the British element, 257 ; or- 
ganized as a territory, 259 ; and as a 
state, 259 ; first organic law, 261-268 ; 
provisional constitution, 269-276; state 
constitution, 277. 

Paris, Treaty of, 248. 

Supreme Judge with Probate Powers, first 
civil officer in Oregon, 256. 

United States, boundaries in 1783, 247; 
purchase of Louisiana in 1803, 248 ; basis 
of their Oregon claim, 249 ; acquire all 
claims to Oregon except Great Britain's, 
250; finally acquire Oregon, 255. 

Vancouver, the notable place of early Ore- 
gon, 251. 

Whitman, Dr., 255. 

Young, Ewing, disposal of his property 
causes the formation of a provisional 
government, 256. 



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